


It's All In Your Head

by The_Risen_Phoenix



Series: In Your Head [1]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Amused Dante, Blood and Injury, Demons, Devil Triggers, Dubious Consent, Fed Up Dante, M/M, Mating, Nico is a champ, Vergil is a Dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:27:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22840051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Risen_Phoenix/pseuds/The_Risen_Phoenix
Summary: Happening to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, V finds himself saddled with an irritating stranger sharing his head space.He had a sneaking suspicion, that this stranger was going to end up being a whole lot more trouble than he was willing to deal with.
Relationships: Nero/V (Devil May Cry)
Series: In Your Head [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739143
Comments: 79
Kudos: 122





	1. Chapter 1

If you were to ask someone to describe a typical Omega, they would say things like – petite, slim, quiet, sweet scent, _obedient_. So when confronted with V, most didn't believe that he was in actuality, an Omega; choosing to believe that he was a Beta instead. V was not petite, standing at around six feet tall, body lean and muscled from hours of martial arts and sword training. Sure he was quiet, mostly preferring to read and keep to himself, only a small circle of friends; but the last thing anyone would ever call him was obedient.

Although not outspoken, V was very strong willed and more likely to do exactly what he was told not to, just to prove that he could. He didn't like others underestimating him just because of his secondary gender; taking great pleasure in proving all his doubters wrong.

So it wasn't a surprise to his friends when he decided to leave the bar early, waving off all offers to walk him home. Normally a lone Omega walking home at night would be just asking for trouble, but V could handle himself and his friends knew it.

As he walked down the street, a great blinding flash of light lit up the whole area, coming from the old crumbled house up on the hill. Blinking his eyes rapidly to regain his sight, V saw a ball of energy hurtling towards him. Turning on his heel to run, V felt something slam into his back, sending him to his knees. His head was suddenly filled with another voice asking – _demanding -_ that V submit to his will, relinquish his hold on his own body and let this... _Alpha_ use him.

Green eyes flashing dangerously, V fought back – ignoring the migraine that pounded mercilessly at his head.

“Get...Out....Of...My...Body!” V hissed, fingers curling into fists upon the pavement.

“ _No! You will submit to my will_ Omega _!”_ The voice spoke, using the Alpha commanding voice.

V let out a bitter laugh, figures they would revert to trying to command him. It's not that V hated all Alphas, he just couldn't stand the ones that felt that they deserved whatever they wanted simply for being, in their own minds, _better_ that a mere Omega. Sadly, this seemed to be the only type of Alpha that V seemed to run into, and OK yeah, he might goad them a little by not being meek like they expected, but that was their problem, not V's.

“Get lost!” V shouted out within his own mind, slamming the doors closed on the invading presence.

With a sigh of relief, V sagged to the ground as the feeling of pressure within his head subsided. He knew though, that he wasn't in the clear yet – just because he had managed to suppress this invading force, didn't mean that he had gotten rid of it entirely. V would have to keep his guard up and make sure that it wasn't able to take control of him.

Pulling himself to his feet, V stumbled his way home; mind and body weary from the mental war he had fought. He could feel the other trying to speak with him, urging him to follow his directions – but V sent the presence the middle finger and dropped into bed.

That night V dreamt of a giant demonic tree, an horrific looking demon seated against the centre as though he were Lord and Master of all before him. In V's dream there was no one there to stop him, and the world was consumed and burnt to ashes. A man stood in the ruins, facing away from V, surveying the wreckage of the aftermath of the demon invasion.

“We can stop this if you just listen to me. If you would just let me use your body to prevent this from happening!...”

V looked around slowly, turning to take it all in. Once he was facing the other man once more, V decided to speak.

“And what happens to me if I let you take over? Will I simply cease to exist? Will my life and body then become yours to use and lose as you see fit?” V's voice was filled with contempt. “No, I will not surrender myself to you.”

“But this future...”

“Is but a possibility. It is not set in stone this vision, and perhaps not letting you go off on your hair brained scheme will change this. Who knows? No I will wait, and if the problem comes to me, then I will deal with it then.”

In his dream, V turned to walk away, pausing for just a moment. “Tell me stranger, what is your name?”

“Vergil.”

V woke with a start, the screams from outside piercing through his sleep fogged brain. Throwing himself out of bed, V raced towards the window and looked out. All along the streets demons roamed, breaking windows and dragging terrified men and women out. What broke V from his stupor, was the sight of a young child struggling within the grasp of an ant like creature, pincers crushing their small body.

With a yell of rage, V grabbed his training sword and jumped from his second story window. He landed lightly on the balls of his bare feet, and ran towards the creature; slashing his sword through the pincers holding the child. The demon reared back with a screech, the child falling from it's severed grasp. V caught them and urged them to run and hide, before turning back with his sword once more raised.

It was in that moment that V realised that he had attracted the attention of every demon on the street - and they were pissed. Abandoning their other prey, they advanced upon V with a single mindedness that was terrifying. Both the voice in his head and his instincts urged V to flee, so he turned on his heel and ran away, wearing nothing but his pyjama pants.

Scaling a fire escape, V raced across the rooftops; leaping from roof to roof. He would have to thank his Beta friend for urging him to learn parkour – he just hoped they survived this demon force – though he had never imagined having to use his skills to escape a hoard of angry demons. When V noticed that he was no longer being followed, he slowed to a slow jog, then a shambling exhausted walk. It was about this time that he realised that he had no clothes, no shoes, and no money on him – and the likelihood of being able to return home, of there even being a home to return to, was slim.

V didn't realise that his control over himself had slipped, didn't realise that he was no longer in control, until he startled himself back to awareness standing over a drunkard who had been stripped nearly naked, he himself appearing to be wearing the other's clothes.

“What is going on here? Did you beat him up? Why am I wearing his clothes?” V demanded of Vergil.

“Pfft, no. As if I would sully my hands on such a dirty mongrel as him. No he was already out, probably a stray demon or another dirty human. And I mean if you _like_ running around half naked....”

“Correct me if I'm wrong here,” V began, ignoring the provoking comment. “But I get the feeling that you don't really like humans all that much.”

“I may be the weaker 'human' half of my whole, but that does not mean I enjoy being so. I am helping humans now, simply because if I don't rejoin with my other half I shall cease to exist. Besides we should both realise that as an Alpha I am much superior to yourself regardless, and could handle this situation far better.”

V's anger rose at Vergil's casual dismissal of all of humanity, and of those secondary genders that he felt were below him. This Alpha definitely needed taking down a peg or two, and if this was the softer half, then V could only imagine the ego on the other half.

“Well, while you are in _my_ body, you will respect both humanity and Betas and Omegas. I have no time for your Alpha posturing, and no stomach to listen to how superior you are. You don't like it, well you are more than welcome to _get the hell out of my head_!”

Vergil subsided, and V got the impression as though he were sulking. No matter, as long as he stayed quiet, V didn't really care what he did.

But now V had a problem – he had said that he wasn't going to go look for this Dante guy that Vergil wanted him to hunt down, besides he didn't have the money to hire the guy; what did Vergil expect him to do? Offer sexual favours in exchange for his demon hunting prowess? – but he had said that he would deal with the problem if it came to him. Which, demons on his doorstep, seemed like the problem had well and truly found him.

So now V had to decide where to go, because at this rate, nowhere was going to be safe for long. In the distance, V could see a giant pillar reaching up into the sky, the clouds swirling angrily around it. Assuming correctly that this had something to do with the current problem, V decided to head towards that. Vergil disagreed heavily, urging V to seek out help and not try to go alone, telling him that he didn't have the training to take on demons alone.

“Well then if I start to falter, you will just have to make sure that I don't die then won't you? After all, if I die, you will too.”

The incensed incoherent screams coming from Vergil, was well worth the headache, V thought with a smirk. As he headed off towards the pillar, V looked down at his feet. Sandals? Did Vergil seriously think that strappy sandals was a smart thing to wear when they were heading into a fight? V made a mental note to try to find some boots at some point, though his conscience shied away from the thought of stealing some. He swore that he would remember where he took them from, and make sure to return with some money when all of this was over – assuming he survived that long.

V hadn't realised just how far away the pillar had been, the sheer size of it making it appear closer than it actually was. The roads were in disarray, so even if he could manage to find a car with the keys still in it – and if he could work out how to operate a car – V would not have been able to drive very far. At one point V had nearly been run over by a speeding van, surprised as it flipped and jumped it's way over the congestion in it's way.

Shaking his head, wondering just how crazy you had to be to even attempt that, V continued on his way slowly. Each day V could feel his body seem to grow just a little more tired, his eyes felt heavier as though they struggled to stay open - things he blamed on exhaustion and lack of available food. His mind was a mess of arguments and confusion, and more than one person had looked at him sideways when he started to yell at Vergil out loud.

In the end, it had taken V over a month to make it to the base of the pillar, just to end up walking into a trap that was not actually laid for him. Vergil growled within his mind, Alpha aggressiveness coming to the fore. With a snarl of his own, V drew his sword and prepared to face the horde.

Dante and Nero had been travelling for about a week through the city, searching out survivors and killing off any demons that they came across. Nero was still trying to get used to the devil breakers that Nico had made for him, and Dante was still heartsick that Vergil had gone and started a war against the realms once again.

They were slowly but surely heading towards the trunk of the giant tree, that was sucking the life out of the unfortunate people caught within it's grasp, when they heard the sounds of fighting. Throwing alarmed looks towards each other, Nero and Dante raced towards the sound, skidding to a halt at the sight before them.

There was a huge horde of demons of all shapes and sizes, and in the middle of them all an Omega attacked them viciously with a sword. They stared dumbfounded for a moment, before a yell of pain from the Omega quickly brought them back to their senses, and they threw themselves into the fight with battle cries designed to attract attention. The demons closest to them turned, sensing prey closer than the other man, and shambled over to attack.

Nero sliced his flaming blade through their rotted flesh, turning the demons to ash. Dante flipped his way towards another section, Ebony and Ivory singing out and dusting even more of the amassed horde. They could both see the man in the centre start in surprise, obviously not expecting help, but he thankfully did not let his surprise drop his guard – and it was a good thing as a huge flying demon dropped from the sky, claws outstretched towards him.

Nero shouted out a warning, though it turned out to be unnecessary, as V swung his sword up almost in a batting motion, carving the demon in twain. Ash fell from the sky and coated all the area, causing the other man to cough, and allowing an opportunity for another demon to attack. Unable to draw breath, V was forced to the ground, a demonic face creeping closer to his own, maw open and saliva dripping upon his face.

Before he could even make a move to grab his dropped sword, a grapple wire hooked into the demon and suddenly a man with a blazing sword was there kicking it off of him. Pulling himself up, and wiping his face off with a corner of his coat, V nodded in thanks to the mystery man and grabbed his sword again – the fight was not over yet. For the remainder of the fight, Nero and V stood back to back, protecting each other.

Nero wasn't sure just when it was during the fight, but at some point there was a strange shift, and that strange chocolate and coffee scent that he had smelt coming from the Omega, changed into a harsh brimstone and charcoal scent. He could also feel the oppressive feeling of a pissed off Alpha exuding it's pheromones, and threw a quick look towards Dante to confirm if it was him emitting the scent. The look of confusion and wariness upon his face let Nero know that it wasn't him, and he turned his head slightly to take in the man behind him.

Nero started in surprise as he watched the man carve through the demons before him. His entire fighting style had changed dramatically, becoming a lot more aggressive than before and showing a seldom taught technique that seemed eerily familiar to Nero. It reminded him of the way Dante fought, Nero realised – and that just raised more questions than he had time to dwell on at this time.

The fight ended fairly quickly with all three men hacking their way through the horde, a few lone demons trying to flee, only to be shot down by both Nero and Dante. V stood with his hands planted on his knees, panting tiredly - Vergil having withdrawn at the first opportunity, unwilling to face Dante just yet. He had never had to fight like that before, and he didn't have the stamina to do so. The two white haired men that had helped him approached him, and V tried to straighten up to thank them for their help.

“Thank you for your aid gentlemen. Without it, I am sure that I would be demon food right now.” V smiled self deprecatingly.

“ _Like I would allow that”_ Vergil hissed within his mind. “ _Just... be careful what you say around these two.”_

“Why?” V questioned within his mind, but Vergil remained stubbornly silent.

“You're welcome, but we should probably be apologising to you. That trap was probably laid for us. I'm Nero by the way.”

“You can call me V.” He replied.

Dante was staring at 'V' critically. There was something....off about the man. He just couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. But earlier, he could have sworn that he could smell Vergil around, though that scent had faded, there was a lingering taint clinging to V's skin.

“That short for anything?” Dante barked out a bit rudely. V looked taken aback at the harsh comment, but replied regardless.

“Yes, it's short for Vitale. But not many bother calling me that, and honestly I prefer it that way.”

“Dante!” Nero admonished the older man, embarrassed at his Uncle's terrible social skills. “Forgive him please,” Nero begged V, not wanting to leave a bad impression, but not knowing why.

“Oh Dante!” V exclaimed. “I've been told to look for you.”

Nero looked between the pair, a sense of foreboding starting to fill him.

“Is that so?” Dante drawled. “And just why are you looking for me, and who told you to look?”

“Something about a demon tree,” V replied, waving towards the Qliphoth. “As for who told me to look for you, well he said his name was Vergil.”


	2. Chapter 2

“ _Oh hell”_ Vergil thought, just before V felt himself slammed into the ground, Dante holding him down, gun pointed towards his chest.

Nero yelled and tried to pull the older man off of V, but Dante could not be moved. The sound of the gun cocking had him freezing, terrified that he would cause Dante to shoot V accidentally.

“Where is he?” Dante hissed, holding the gun steadily and staring into shocked green eyes.

Before V could respond however, blue bled into his eyes and his entire demeanour changed. Dante reared back as the familiar Alpha scent of his brother flooded his senses. Both Nero and Dante watched, as V's whole presence changed – his back straightened, his bearing became more arrogant and prideful; his face hardened, any softness hidden beneath iron clad control. His strength also rose with the change, managing to push Dante back fairly easily, with more power than a mere human should be capable of.

“I'm not surprised that you can't see what is right in front of you dear brother.” The words and cadence of speech was all Vergil, though the voice was definitely V's – even if it was a little strained.

“Vergil.” Dante growled, gun hand twitching once more.

He wanted so much to sink a bullet into his brother's head right at this moment – even knowing how useless that would be – but.... it wasn't really his brother in front of him was it? It was some poor sucker that had somehow gotten caught up in the this mess, and Dante had a feeling that he wasn't a willing participant either.

“What have you done?” Just because he couldn't shoot Vergil, didn't mean he wasn't above intimidating him while he was stuck in his weaker vessel. Dante grabbed a hold of V's clothing, hauling the lithe man off his feet to dangle inches above the ground.

“ _I_ have done nothing.” Vergil replied with a smirk. “The other half of me though....well that's not so innocent.”

“Other half...? Oh gods Vergil, please tell me you didn't do what I'm thinking you did?” Dante wanted to bash his head against a wall. Or well, maybe bash Vergil's head into the wall.

What had he been thinking, using the Yamato to separate demon from human? It was just the stupidly smart, hair-brained scheme that Dante could definitely see Vergil going for. He just felt that the other man probably hadn't really thought about the consequences, and the fact that half of him would probably die. Assuming he cared at all for the discarded half; which going by recent events, Dante was going to assume he didn't.

Nero watched as V's features twisted into something resembling a sneering smirk, baring his teeth at Dante, but choosing not to say a word. By the sound of the many varied curses coming from Dante's mouth though, Nero had a feeling that the expression had answered his question regardless.

“How are you here then? In this man's body?!” Dante demanded, shaking said body within his hold.

“Hmm, well I was searching for a vessel once I had been expelled, and I happened to see this fool walking home alone. It was much too good an opportunity to pass up, and so I possessed him. If only the damned Omega would just surrender control to me, things would go a lot smoother. As it is now, we are constantly fighting for control over the body.”

Dante was mildly impressed that this man had enough willpower to suppress an Alpha trying to take him over. He didn't even know just how strong a will you would need to be able to do that normally; and the fact that it was _Vergil_ who was the one in his head with him, well that just knocked his estimation of the man up a few notches.

Also, well Dante didn't like to take too many of the stereotypes to heart, but the fact that this man was an Omega intrigued him. Omegas were susceptible to commands, normally fairly weak willed, and genteel. From what Dante had seen of V earlier, this boy was the furthest thing from any of those things; plus he didn't _look_ Omega either.

Movement from the corner of his eye caught Dante's attention and he turned, watching as Nero crept closer towards them. He could see how Nero seemed fascinated by V, though right at this moment the strong stench of Alpha was keeping him from venturing too close. Dante rolled his eyes at the younger man – had he never seen an Omega before?

Suddenly the body within his grasp started struggling against his hold again, drawing Dante's full attention back to Vergil. He was about to growl at him to cease his struggles, when he noticed green eyes staring back at him both fearfully, but also defiantly. With a stifled curse, Dante lowered the man back to his feet, and watched as he stumbled back and fell on his rear.

V flinched back as Dante stepped forwards to offer his help, and realising that he would have to earn back any trust that he had destroyed, Dante withdrew quickly. He didn't want this man to go off on Vergil's orders; didn't want him to get caught up in this mess at all. But he had a feeling that there was going to be no avoiding it, and he would rather the other man was at least less wary of him than he currently was.

Now that the Alpha scent had faded, Nero rushed forwards to help; either not seeing, or ignoring the flinch that V made. V looked taken aback as Nero offered a glowing green gel to him for healing, obviously not expecting kindness from either man after what had just happened.

“What...? Why are you helping me?” V asked bewildered. “You just attacked me moments ago...”

“You're hurt,” Nero explained quietly. “And it wasn't you Dante was attacking, so much as it was your....passenger. I'm sorry you got caught up in the fallout.”

V thanked Nero quietly, letting the young Alpha help him to his feet afterwards. Following Nero's gaze downwards, V rolled his eyes as he noticed that Nero was staring at his sandals. Realising that V had caught him staring, Nero averted his gaze quickly, coughing into his hand.

“I know, they're a bit unsuitable, but well, at the time it was either these or nothing. I was hoping to pick up some boots if I can find some somewhere.”

“Oh well, I er probably have some spares if you want? It looks like we're about the same size maybe.” Nero offered.

Dante watched all of this, wishing he could just disappear. He had not signed up to watch Nero make a fool of himself over this pretty Omega. He hadn't signed up for this at all really, but well when he got the call from Kyrie about Nero and then the Yamato going missing....he hadn't really had much choice now did he?

Calling out to the others, Dante finally herded them back to a familiar looking van. V recognised this van, as it had almost run him over a little while ago after all. Climbing up into the vehicle, V was greeted by a haze of cigarette smoke and twanging accent. Coughing and waving his hand before his face, V caught sight of a woman with wildly curly hair observing him critically.

“Who's this then?” She asked Dante.

“It's...complicated.” Dante replied.

She was obviously not satisfied with his answer though, as she turned to Nero, who quickly caved under her intense stare.

“He's V....but also he's my dad?”

“What?” Both V and the woman shrieked, the sentiment echoing disbelievingly within V's head also. Dante slapping his hand against his face.

Blue bled into green eyes, and suddenly the overwhelming scent of Alpha assaulted them all.

“Nico get back!” Dante yelled, drawing his sword and ready to throw the man out of the van.

“Would you care to repeat what you just said boy?” Vergil demanded.

“You... you're my father.” Nero repeated, uncertainly.

They watched as the face before them went through several expression changes; no one quite knowing just what was happening. With a roar of rage, Vergil leapt forwards. To do what they had no clue, and they watched in amazement as he came to an abrupt stop, mid lunge. They all watched warily as Vergil seemed to be fighting with himself, Nero and Dante realising just what was going on, and Nico catching on pretty quickly.

The struggle seemed to last for hours, though only five minutes or so had passed, before the body dropped to the ground panting. The coffee and chocolate scent filled the air, letting them know that it was V back in control once more.

“Apologies,” V panted out tiredly, arm shaking with the effort of holding himself up, free hand digging painfully into his own head in an effort to ease the pain. In his head, Vergil screamed and raged against V's hold over him, demanding to be allowed to seek retribution.

Nero stepped forwards to help him to the seat, pausing in shock at the sight of a crack trailing up the other man's arm towards his shoulder, and the streak of white that now adorned his jet black hair. Shooting a look towards Dante, he flicked his eyes towards both areas, noticing how his lips tightened thoughtfully, eyes scanning V to take in anymore changes.

“Sooo...” Nico drawled. “That was your dad huh? Seems like a real champ.”

Dante couldn't help the snort that escaped him at that statement, before hopping into the van and closing the door behind him. He headed towards the front, collapsing into the passenger seat and directing Nico to take them to their next location.

Nico looked like she wanted to ask more about the strange man they had brought back with them, but a quick shake of Dante's head made her hold her tongue. She would get answers later, but for now, they should probably get away from the site of the ambush, it hadn't been a quiet affair, and Dante doubted that Nero would have his head in the game enough to be able to deal with more demons right now. He was much too worried and enamoured with the Omega in the back, and no amount of confusion over him being possessed by his father was putting a halt to that.

Nero tucked V into the corner seat in the back of the van, making sure to sit close to him – but only in case the other went flying, or so he told himself. He was intrigued by this anomaly of a man. Currently he was both Alpha and Omega...though if he had to hazard a guess, he would actually say that the Omega side of him was the stronger, though perhaps not physically. Occasionally Nero could smell the coffee and chocolate scent changing to brimstone and charcoal once more, though Nero couldn't sense any other changes in the other man. Especially not that overbearing Alpha aura.

He could see how tensely V sat, though he could see that tiredness pulled at him, causing his eyelids to droop occasionally, no matter how hard V tried to resist the call of sleep. Nero watched as V eventually slumped to the side, his head falling to rest against Nero's shoulder. Without really meaning to, Nero buried his nose in V's hair and breathed him in, growling lowly in pleasure. He only stopped when he caught sight of Dante glaring at him from the front, face turning a fetching shade of pink in embarrassment.

For his part, Dante couldn't help but feel aggrieved. His brother had gone and fucked things up really well this time, and worse he had dragged another innocent into the mess. Nero seemed to be too far off in lala land to realise that V was struggling to contain not just an Alpha presence within his body, but a _Sparda_. And regardless of whether Vergil had cut himself off from his demon half, the taint of the blood would still be poisoning V.

Dante didn't know just how to get his brother out of V, and even if they managed that, would there be anything left of the other man by that time? Dante could sense the other's presence weakening, though that didn't seem to stop him from fighting Vergil's hold on him. Though Dante had to wonder, just how long the younger man could hold on for.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains dub con/non con so beware.

Unfortunately, Dante wasn't the only one that had started to notice the deterioration of V's body. It had even gotten to the point where Nero had gotten over himself enough to notice that V was not doing as well as previously. He had accidentally also alerted V to the changes, complimenting V on the change in hair colour he had noticed.

“Hey V, I like what you've done with your hair.”

“My...hair?” V questioned, tugging at a strand in curiosity. Instead of the black hair he had expected to see, V was shocked to discover his hair had started to lose it's colour, white liberally streaked through his previously dark strands. “I...what is going on?”

Vergil remain suspiciously silent when V tried to question him, Dante unable to meet his eyes, and Nero seeming to be as confused by V's confusion as he was by the change, having assumed it had been deliberate. V eventually started taking notice of his condition, things he had previously put down to battle injuries, now potentially holding a whole different meaning.

Vergil what was happening; had known all along that it was a possibility, and knew that he would not be able to transfer his essence into another vessel if this one were to cause him the greatest of inconveniences – by dying. He started to plot and plan, trying to find the best way to strengthen the body he resided in; but the only thing he could come up with was to have V bond with an Alpha or to give up total control of his body.

Since Vergil knew that there was no way that V was going to allow him total control – and even then, that would most likely only slow the progression of the deterioration – he started eyeing the two Alphas that travelled with them critically. Dante would be a good strong Alpha, though he doubted very much that either man would be particularly happy with being bonded to each other for the rest of their lives, even after he himself was reunited with his whole. And that left Nero.

Vergil wasn't too sure what he thought of the boy, though he was certainly a better match for the Omega, at least in terms of age. Through their shared head space, Vergil could tell that V was amused and charmed by Nero in equal measure. That is not to say that his headstrong bullishness did not also get on his nerves, but that could also have been Vergil's disgust influencing him. And more than that, Nero apparently held a measure of Sparda blood, something that would help V to cope with his own taint, and perhaps negate it.

But how to bring the two together, he wondered. Nero seemed to be hesitant to approach them with anything other than casual friendliness, and from what Vergil could tell, V had very little interest in finding an Alpha and settling down. He had way too much independence and spirit to let himself be suppressed by a controlling Alpha. And that was going to be a big problem.

In the end though, things fell in to place for Vergil quite nicely, and he was loath to waste such a perfect opportunity.

Nero had been becoming increasingly gruff and irritable as of late, so it was not much of a surprise to anyone when he finally fell into his rut. The group had decided to stop for the duration, the addition of an Omega in their midst meaning that Nero wouldn't be able to wait it out in the van like he usually would. So Dante and V had found a suitable hotel, marginally less wreaked than the surrounding buildings, and having the added bonus of soft beds, running water, and locks on all of the doors.

Vergil waited until Nero reached the peak of his rut, forcefully knocking V out, and suppressing his mind as he slept, before taking control of his body. With a little tweaking of his own, Vergil managed to release not his own brimstone Alpha scent, but a lesser imitation of V's own coffee and chocolate scent, thus hiding the fact that it was currently Vergil in control of V's body, and not the man himself. He felt grossly disgusted as he cleaned and prepared V's body for what was to come, but even he was intelligent enough not to force the other man's body through the coming ordeal without preparation. He didn't want to have to deal with the pain that would cause him, as he would be unable to withdraw from the forefront of V's mind throughout the entire duration of his plan. That and, well it would be harder to hide what he had done, if V were suffering from the after effects the next day.

Knocking carefully upon Nero's door, Vergil could hear the Alpha growl out a swear, heavy footsteps stomping towards the door. He peered around anxiously, hoping that Dante did not come out of his own room and catch him lingering outside the young Alpha's door. Nero he could fool, but he doubted Dante would fall for his tricks.

“What?” Nero growled, throwing open the door, expecting to see Dante, or even Nico standing there. What he had not expected was V, staring intently at him and filling his nose with the most intoxicating dose of his pheromones that Nero had ever smelt.

“V? What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here. You _really_ shouldn't be here.” The rough Alpha tone within Nero's voice increased, the longer the Omega stood there before him, but Nero resisted the urge to lean forwards to scent V. Holding on to the last of his restraint, Nero stepped back to close the door on the other man, before Vergil's hand was reaching out to halt it.

Vergil was frustrated. He had hoped that Nero being in rut, would automatically lose control of himself when presented with an Omega, but it looked like he was going to have to do the work himself. Shuddering in disgust at the thought of having to initiate this coupling, and participate, Vergil stepped forwards, pushing the door open further, lifting V's pale hand and placing it upon Nero's chest.

“I've come to help you Nero.” 'V' said huskily, the sound sending a shiver down Nero's spine.

“Wha?”

Nero was cut off as V leant forwards, lips pressing firmly against his own. He gasped in surprise, and the Omega took the chance to slip his tongue into Nero's mouth. Nero let out a low groan as V's taste filled his mouth, and his control over his Alpha wavered.

Sensing his weakness, Vergil pushed out V's scent, stronger than before, stepping closer to Nero and rubbing against him.

“Let me help,” he whispered huskily into Nero's ear, teeth scraping over the sensitive skin there.

Nero's control was holding on by a thread, and if he didn't get V out of there soon, he was going to end up doing something that both of them would regret. Resting his hands upon V's shoulders, Nero gently pushed the other man back slightly, staring into those blue green eyes before him. Wait. Blue green? Weren't V's eyes a clear jade green? Just what was going on here?

Before Nero even had a chance to take that thought any further, V had brushed his restraining hands away, and crashed his mouth upon Nero's own. Taking advantage of Nero's surprise, V pushed him back into his room and onto his bed; slamming the door behind himself, V climbing over Nero's prone body. The thick scent of V's scent filled Nero's nostrils, combined with the feeling of the other man pressing down against his persistent arousal, was more than he could take. By the time V leant down to claim his lips in another ferocious kiss, Nero had lost the last of his control.

Vergil smirked inwardly as Nero grasped onto V's hips, and flipped their positions; Nero now hovering over the Omega. Mind completely blanking out, Nero's Alpha had had enough of the teasing and had taken control. With a low, possessive growl, Nero stripped both himself and V of their clothing, mouth salivating at the sight of V's already prepared body.

Having gotten what he wanted now – Nero having lost control to his Alpha – Vergil no longer had to participate so much, and so mentally retreated as far as possible, all whilst suppressing V's mind still. It wasn't until he felt the sharp prick of teeth piercing the nape of his borrowed body that Vergil started paying attention again.

At some point in time, Nero must have flipped their positions, as Vergil now found himself kneeling upon the bed, trembling arms trying to support his writhing body. Vergil could feel Nero move within him, bile rising up his throat. The teeth clamped along the nape of V's neck held him in place, and Vergil could feel the bonding hormones flood through him. He could feel how V's body started repairing itself; could feel how much stronger they were already, and knew that he had made the right decision.

Not that either man would ever know what Vergil had done. In the morning, he would make sure that he was gone from this room, cleaning up the mess left behind. He was banking on Nero putting down the experience to fevered hallucinations, his fascination with the Omega the cause. And V, well Vergil was going to suppress his bonding high.

Neither man should suffer any complications as far as Vergil could tell, but then again he honestly didn't care either way. He himself had never really had interest in tying himself to such a weak being, and he couldn't understand why Alphas lost their minds over the inferior Omegas. But he assumed that their continued proximity should be enough to satisfy the bond, and that meant that V would be strong enough to continue on this journey. Vergil needed to be there when Urizen was faced after all, otherwise, how was he ever going to become whole once more, and rid himself of this defective _human_ prison?

Vergil tried to blank out his mind again, but he wasn't able to ignore the feeling of V's body stretching around Nero's knot, his groan of completion breathed out against his ear. The sudden weight of Nero pressed against his back, sent Vergil tumbling to the bed, grumbling as he lay trapped beneath the younger man, locked together for an indeterminate amount of time.

He waited until he could feel Nero start to slip from him, turning his head as far as he could to check that Nero was asleep – the strength of their coupling having knocked him out completely. Vergil pushed himself up as far as possible, carefully turning Nero onto his side, and slipping out from beneath his weight. Disgust once more filled him, as slick fluid start leaking out of him and running down his thighs. Deciding that he didn't care if he didn't have time to shower, Vergil all but ran to the bathroom, turning the water on scaldingly hot, to try to wash the feeling of the other Alpha off of his skin.

Vergil scrubbed V's skin raw, making sure that not a single trace of his machinations remained, going so far as to press his fingers into himself to dig out every drop of come that Nero had left inside of him. He then crept from the room, sighing in relief as he found Nero still dead to the world on the bed. Using his newly returned strength, Vergil stripped the bed quickly, laying new sheets over the mattress and spraying the area with air freshener, designed to dampen the pheromones released during heats or ruts. Looking at the can, Vergil decided to spray some on the mattress as well, the spray hopefully masking their combined scents. Nero may wake up confused the next morning, to have cleaned sheets and an almost scentless room; but hopefully he would put it down to Dante or Nico taking care of him.

Once he was done, Vergil slipped quietly from the room and back into V's own. Changing into his sleepwear, Vergil finally released the control that he had over V's mind. Instantly V's slumbering mind felt that something was off, and woke with a start. Instead of being somewhere strange though, he found himself in his own room, lying in his own bed. Confusion filled him then, as he couldn't actually recall changing and getting into bed, but he dismissed the thought as he had been extremely tired lately for some reason. Though now that he thought about it, V found that he was feeling better than he had in quite a while, and put it down to a decent night's rest for once.

His neck ached mildly though, and he raised his hand to investigate, before Vergil's grating voice interrupted him.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” Vergil warned. “You've got a pretty nasty scratch back there from the last fight, and it will get dirty if you touch it. I've been taking care of it for you, since you don't seem to remember it's there.”

V's hand hovered above the area, sure that he had not been injured during the last fight, but wondering if perhaps Vergil had taken over and gotten them injured and was now trying to hide that fact. In the end, V left the area alone, rolling over and falling quickly back to sleep. He wasn't sure just what Vergil was up to, but he had a feeling that it was nothing good. V would definitely have to keep a closer eye on the other man; as even though he was within his own mind, Vergil seemed very adept at causing trouble for him.

Nero woke the next morning in confusion. His rut was over, and that was fantastic, but normally they lasted at least four days, and it had only been three. That and his room was almost scent free, something that he wouldn't have expected. Perhaps Dante had popped in and cleaned the room for him? Though that did sound like something extremely stupid and out of character for the other man – Alphas entering a room with an in rut Alpha usually spelt trouble – someone must have been there, and it couldn't have been the Omega. Nico perhaps might have helped out, she being a beta, but she had taken off for a bit on her own in her van to look for scraps to salvage to make new things.

Another thing Nero noticed, was just how refreshed he was feeling. Normally after a rut, he felt lethargic, but right now, he was sure he could run a marathon with no troubles. Assuming the marathon was killing demons, and not actual running. As energetic as he was, Nero didn't actually like running all that much.

Throwing on some clothes, Nero bounced out of his room, and immediately ran into a shocked looking Dante.

“Hey thanks for cleaning up after me,” Nero said, giving the other man a friendly slap on the back as he passed. “Appreciate it.”

Without waiting for a reply, Nero headed out to try to track down some food – he was starving.

Dante stared after Nero with a look of confusion upon his face, wondering just how he was recovered so quickly from his rut, and what he had been talking about when he'd thanked him for tidying the room. Looking around to make sure no one else was around, Dante opened the door to Nero's room noticing that someone had indeed been through and cleaned up. Even the scents had been removed with the spray, though Dante was sure he could just catch a hint of another scent in the room.

He'd have to keep an eye on the boy, something here just didn't feel right. He'd also have to keep an eye out for V too, something telling him that Vergil probably had something to do with all of this strangeness; he just couldn't put his finger on what was happening here.

Down in the hotel's kitchen, Dante found Nero and V eating and chatting together happily. Well Nero was stuffing his face with a strange array of food scavenged from the cupboards, while V tiredly sipped on a cup of tea. Dante frowned to himself as he took V in; noticing that besides the dark bags beneath his eyes, the other man was looking suspiciously better than he had been recently.

Watching the pair from the doorway, Dante couldn't help but notice how they seemed to be drawn closer together than usual. V normally tried to keep himself pretty separate from both Dante and Nero, and when asked, he had replied something about Vergil getting bitchy in his head about the other hunters. But now, now Nero was practically glued to V's side, and the other man wasn't even batting an eyelash. Maybe V's omegan side was attracted to the lingering scent of rut on Nero?

Whatever it was, Dante was suspicious. Not of V though; of Vergil. He didn't want his brother to mess around with the other man, because messing with people's lives seemed to be his greatest talent.

Striding into the kitchen, Dante was slightly taken aback when Nero growled at him as he patted V on the back in greeting, eyes staring back at him in shock. What's more telling, was the way V shifted away from his touch, unconsciously shifting closer to Nero, hand tightening around his mug.

Dante tried to take a subtle sniff of the air, but although something smelt a little _off –_ something he put down to Nero's recent rut, there was nothing that gave away anything more sinister having happened. And besides the odd closeness, neither man was acting any differently either. It was odd to say the least, and Dante's gut twisted with worry.


	4. Chapter 4

For the next several weeks, Dante kept an extremely close eye on both Nero and V; making sure to take special care to notice just when Vergil took control over his stolen vessel. Nero seemed to be both more and less settled, though that could be put down to his recent rut and his continued exposure to an Omega.

Being in V's presence seemed to calm the often antagonistic Alpha, though just the fact that he was an Omega was probably the cause; but at the same time, anyone straying too close to the other man was at risk of being growled at...or worse. One unfortunately dense waiter at the diner they had stopped at, had taken notice of V, and had done all that he could to attract his attention. V, oblivious to his attentions, or pretending to be, paid not a second of attention to the overly attentive man. He had grown bolder then, reaching out to touch V's dual coloured hair, before his arm had been grabbed harshly and slammed against the table with a resounding thud. Nero had gotten up into the man's face, teeth barred in a furious scowl, eyes flashing angrily.

V had watched the scene with calm eyes, shifting unconsciously to angle himself closer to Nero, even as Dante half expected him to move _away_ from the angry Alpha. He stared down the pinned waiter with a blank gaze, eyes drifting almost lazily towards his pinned arm, before standing to hover over the man – still with the aura of calm surrounding him. The sweet scent of coffee and chocolate filled the air then, causing Nero to calm slightly and the waiter to fall almost limp with ill conceived relief.

“Do not touch that which is not yours.” V's voice was low and cold, and sent shivers down the man's spine. “I am not yours, will _never_ be yours. I belong to no one but myself, and those I chose to call family. Do not touch me again, lest you lose your hand next time.”

V flicked his eyes towards Nero, and like an order had been given, he reluctantly let the terrified man go. Before the waiter left though, he witnessed V's eyes seem to flicker into blazing blue eyes, the oppressive feeling of a second angry Alpha pressing down against him. Vergil might not particularly care about his vessel, but he didn't need anyone else trying to interfere with his plans. V sat down again calmly, Nero hovering angrily, staring down the rapidly paling waiter.

With a terrified yelp, the man had fled from the table and back into the kitchen without a backwards glance. When their food had finally arrived, it had been brought by the manager, who had practically fallen to his knees begging for forgiveness, offering them their meals, and anything else they wanted, for free. V had accepted the man's apology graciously, though he had not thought it had been necessary – not from him anyway – and Dante had been happy with the free food; ordering another few dishes while he could.

V seemed to be in an increasingly irate mood after the incident, his scent getting stronger and stronger as the day went on; and it finally clicked for Dante. Rather than having to panic that Vergil was planning to do something to the two younger men, V was simply going into heat – hence a more realistic and natural reason for some of the strangeness that had been going on between the pair recently – and Nero as a young, inexperienced Alpha, was responding to that. Now, instead of watching the pair like a hawk in suspicion, Dante watched for the amusement value. In the back of his mind however, Dante still wondered about the change of hair colour and the rapid healing that V had shown recently, along with the suspicious lack of deterioration he had previously been showing.

Nero seemed to be unable to help himself from catering to all of V's needs and wants, seemingly before the Omega himself even realised he wanted something. It was amusing to see the confused look that crossed V's face every time Nero would appear ready to tend to him, and the look of pleased accomplishment that Nero sported when V thanked him quietly. Dante found this all to be endlessly amusing, watching as Nero's confusion over his own actions continued to mount. It didn't take long before he finally broke, coming to ask Dante just what was going on with him.

“Have I been cursed? Or is this something that Vergil has done maybe? Just what the hell is wrong with me Dante?”

Nero paced agitatedly, running his hands restlessly through his already tousled silvery locks. Dante sat reclined on his chair, smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“You're reacting to V's heat.”

Nero's brain stuttered to a halt. Heat? What?

“You've never been around an Omega in heat before, so you are finding it a bit difficult to keep from being affected. Also the presence of two other Alphas, disregarding the fact that V and Vergil are sharing the same bodily space, means that you are trying to prove that you are the best mate for him to choose.”

“I... what?...Heat?” Nero stuttered. “But I mean aren't Omegas meant to be all....slick and horny and stuff?”

Dante outright laughed at Nero then, chortling at the sight of his entirely red faced nephew.

“Oh boy that's hilarious Nero. I think you've been reading a few too many romance novels and watching a bit too much porn.”

If possible, Nero's face turned even redder, and he tried to hide behind his hands in embarrassment.

“Look I'm not saying that Omegas aren't more open to offers of mating while in heat, but usually it's only with their actual mate, the one courting them, or someone that they are already interested in. It's not just any Alpha that they come across like they show in books. You'll probably try having a crack at him once the height of his heat hits, you're young and probably not going to be able to resist trying, but don't take it personally if he turns you down ok? Damn, we're going to have to find another safe place to stay, for V to ride his heat out in.”

Dante spoke matter of factly to Nero, needing the other to understand what was going on; all the while cursing himself for not keeping him more informed about all of this. But....Omegas weren't that common, and in their line of work, they rarely came across one anyway. Besides, most Omegas hid themselves away during their heat, uninterested in being out and about with the moodiness, cravings, and overbearing Alphas they had to endure.

Nero grunted in affirmation, sure that he would be able to resist the allure of an Omega in heat. I mean, how hard could it be if they weren't all leaking slick and begging for knots like he had imagined them to be? Did Dante think him so weak that he would fall prey to the sweet heat scent; that he would not be able to control himself? Hrmph. As if. Nero would show Dante that he had much better control than that.

At least that's what he thought, right up until the moment he looked up mid-fight to see V dancing through a swarm of demons, wielding his blade like he was born for it. And it wasn't even Vergil's influence, like they had originally suspected, the Alpha's presence nowhere to be sensed.

Fire surrounded the Omega as he danced gracefully between strikes, feet moving like a dancer, hair whipping past his face as he twirled, smoke and ash obscuring Nero's view every so often. He found himself unconsciously moving closer to the other man, not even realising that he was doing so, until the smell of coffee and chocolate mixed with blood and smoke, started to fill his senses.

Nero sliced through a demon who was trying to sneak up on V, who turned with a look of surprise to see Nero so close. He smiled gratefully at him, and his smile blind sided Nero. He stood dumbstruck, even as V turned away from him again, cutting through the attacking demons effortlessly. It was only muscle memory and instinct that got him through the fight unscathed, and as soon as it was safe, Nero found himself drifting once again into V's space. Not even Dante's knowing smirk could deter him.

If V was surprised to have Nero following him towards his room, practically stepping on his heels, he showed no sign of it, turning to smile invitingly at the eager Alpha. The overpowering scent of Omega hit Nero as soon as he entered the room, the smell filling his body with the overwhelming urge to get closer to the other man; to press up against him until there was not a single sliver of space between their bodies, sink into that welcoming warmth and claim what he wanted.

Nero followed his instincts, stepping closer to V, coming up behind him, and putting his hands on his hips. V shivered pleasantly in his hold, head tilting to the side slightly, as though inviting Nero to sink his teeth into his neck. Lifting a slightly trembling hand, Nero brushed V's white streaked hair away from his neck gently, the haze of V's pheromones clouding his mind. Somehow, Nero was delighted by the sight of the unexpected bite, already marking V's slender neck, his inner Alpha purring happily. He barred his teeth, ready to sink them back into that tempting neck and re-mark what was his, when everything suddenly changed.

The sickly sweet scent of chocolate, turned bitter, brimstone and charcoal burning Nero's nostrils and rising his ire. Another Alpha, _here_ in the room with _his_ Omega.

V's pliant body had turned stiff and unwelcoming, his sudden turn, and subsequent shove, catching Nero off guard, sending him tumbling backwards. Bright blue eyes stared out at Nero from V's soft face, and before he knew it, he was being harshly shoved back through the door, the wood slamming and locking behind him. He sat on his rear in a daze, mind slowly clearing now that he wasn't being affected by V's scent, and he looked around himself in confusion, wondering how he had gotten there. Dante stood not three feet away, trying valiantly not to laugh at his nephew, though enjoying the look of confusion upon his face regardless.

“Told you not to be surprised if you were rejected,” Dante chortled, coming over to offer Nero a hand up. “Though I gotta admit, that was a harsher reaction than I was expecting from V.”

“I...I don't think V rejected me...” Nero hesitantly mused. “I think Vergil might have come out to....defend V? Or something. I don't know.”

“What?” Dante was looking at Nero with a piercing gaze.

“I followed V in, and he was receptive. He offered his nape for me to bite...” Dante held in his shocked inhale. “But then his scent changed and he kicked me out and I have no idea what's going on anymore.”

“Nero, stay away from V for the time being.” Dante cut off Nero's protests firmly. “I don't like the sounds of this, and I feel like Vergil is up to something. But I don't know what. I don't want either of you two to be caught up in whatever it is he's planning ok?”

Nero nodded reluctantly, unsure of just how well he would be able to follow those instructions. He didn't want to stay away from V; he felt drawn to him, more so recently, and he felt the need to be as close as possible. His Alpha screamed that he needed to protect the weakest of their pack, though he inwardly scoffed at the thought. V was more than capable of looking after himself, as he had proven many times already, and would likely be chagrined and angered at the very thought of needing protection.

Dante watched as Nero stumbled away from V's room, making sure he had entered his own, before turning and knocking on the door before him. He rapped his knuckles against the wood firmly, several times, and waited patiently for the other man to answer. When several moments passed without the door opening, Dante knocked again – this time harder. When this summons went unanswered also, Dante resorted to calling out to V.

“V, I know you likely don't want visitors right now, but I need to talk to you.”

Dante held his breath as he could finally hear footsteps approach the door, a small smile of thanks spreading across his face as it started to open. The smile froze in place on his face as icy blue eyes glared out into his own, the scent of angered Alpha filling the space between them.

“Vergil?” Dante exclaimed in shock, not expecting to come face to face with his brother, no matter what Nero had said, and especially when his vessel was in heat.

“Oh, it's just you. I guess you can enter.” Vergil shifted slightly to allow Dante entry, before closing the door firmly behind them both. He turned around then, crossing his arms over his chest to stare the other man down.

Dante breathed in the faint, lingering traces of Omegan heat, the scent quickly being overcome by that of the Alpha before him. He was confused; what did Vergil think he was doing suppressing V's heat like this? Surely he would realise just how badly that would turn out for the slim man, and by extension, Vergil himself.

“What are you doing Verg? And why are you taking over V this way?” Dante wanted to shake Vergil, but he didn't want to hurt V. And considering they were 'sharing' V's body – and he used that term very loosely – it would only harm V, not Vergil.

“I am doing what I must, so that we won't be delayed any further in our mission, of reuniting with my other half. Oh and stopping this demon nonsense.” V's face twisted into the expression of a familiar sneer, his more delicate features not suited to the look.

Dante privately felt that Vergil simply wished to rejoin with his other half, just so that he could take over the plans to rule both the Underworld and the Overworld. Something along the lines of 'this is my plan, and I don't want to see you succeed, where I have not.' He wisely kept his thoughts to himself though, not willing to get into a fight with him about it. Though there was still the problem of Vergil's messing with V's body.

_Messing with V's body....._

Dante felt cold all of a sudden, pieces starting to fall into horrifying place within his mind. Nero's sudden need to be closer to V, V's body looking less sickly recently – he had taken note that the cracks that had opened up over V's body had begun healing, and the spread of white through his dark hair had slowed – the fact that V had let Nero into his room while he was in heat, right up until Vergil interfered.

No. No please, no. Dante didn't want his thoughts to be true, but he needed to be sure. With a swift movement, Dante grasped V, turning him and taking hold of the back of his jacket, yanking the material down and revealing the mating mark upon the nape of his neck. What little respect he had still held for Vergil, dispelled like smoke at the sight before him.

“What the hell have you done?” Dante yelled, unable to prevent himself from shaking Vergil this time.

“What I needed to, to allow me to continue to survive.” Vergil responded calmly, brushing Dante's hands from his borrowed form.

“Do they know?” Dante's voice was an angry growl; his hands clenched into fists at his side, holding himself back from strangling the man before him. He wanted to say that he couldn't believe that Vergil had done this....but the sad thing was, he could believe it. Vergil had never let anything stop him from achieving his goals, not even if it was at the cost of someone else's life.

Vergil scoffed, brushing out the wrinkles Dante had left on this clothing. “Of course not. I waited until Nero was deep into his rut, took possession of this body...and then let nature take it's course. I can't even begin to describe how terrible it was to have to deal with that ordeal, I shall have to add it to the list of things never to think of again.”

The strangled noise Dante made was taken as a sound of agreement, and Vergil looked slightly happier with his brother at the thought of his support. “Once the ordeal was over, I sprayed scent neutralisers around and cleaned everything up. Neither V nor Nero are any the wiser.”

“And did it not occur to you, that you have just mated two near strangers for life?” Dante managed to grit out between clenched teeth.

“It is of little consequence.” Vergil replied flippantly, with a shrug. “This body was unable to sustain me, and I needed a guaranteed way to make it stronger. And well, after having spent what little amount of time that I have around the other boy, I would have thought he would have been happy to be able to gain a mate in any way possible. It's not like he seems capable of procuring one on his own.”

That was it.

Dante couldn't hold himself back anymore, and mentally he apologised to V. He prayed that Vergil did not give up control of V's body just to spite him, but was sure that he would not – simply so that he could continue to suppress V's heat. With an angered roar, Dante leapted forwards, fist slamming into that fine, straight nose before him; feeling the satisfying crunch of bone shattering beneath his fist. Vergil stumbled backwards, hands reaching up to cradle his face, even as blood started pouring from his broken nose.

“You broke my damn nose!” Vergil shrieked, voice coming out clogged and nasal, his nose already starting to swell.

“I did. And I wish I could do more, but V doesn't deserve it. I wish that I could reach into him and yank your rotten soul from his body so that I could deal with you here, but I can't.” Dante turned away from Vergil in disgust, pacing angrily to try to dispel his frustration. “You will fix this Vergil, I don't know how, but you will.”

“Impossible. You and I both know that there is no way to break a mating bond, short of death. Unless you wish me to deal with that Alpha whelp when we are done?”

Dante shook his head in denial, but knew he was right, though he had hoped that Vergil with all of his research and demon deals, would have known of another way. Dante slumped to the floor, defeated. Because at the end of the day, when Vergil was reunited with his demonic half, Nero and V would still have to deal with the fallout of Vergil's machinations.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few days were fraught with tension.

Vergil continued to retain possession over V's body, his already arrogant and condescending demeanour, made worse by the spill over of V's own heat affected moods. His attitude rubbed Nero the wrong way, his already heightened feeling of aggression towards the older Alpha, made worse by the blatant abuse of the Omega's body.

Nero had been out of sorts for days now, his anger getting the best of him with very little provocation; the unfortunate demons he fought standing little to no chance. He even found himself snapping at Dante and Nico more often, though he would swiftly apologise as he held no actual anger towards either person. Vergil on the other hand....Vergil had taken Nero's Omega from him. He wasn't quite sure what that meant, but it angered his Alpha regardless.

Dante tried to keep the peace between the pair, reminding Nero of his advice to stay away from Vergil, but he found himself also caught between unending anger at Vergil, and pity for V. The day after he had discovered Vergil's duplicity, Dante had marched back into V's room and wrenched his nose back into position. Satisfaction had filled him as Vergil had howled in agony once more, knowing that the pain was inflicted solely on Vergil, and that V would benefit by not allowing his nose to heal crookedly. Unfortunately, Vergil's accelerated healing did not pass over to V – that was a perk exclusive to his demonic side – so Dante still felt a little bad about breaking his nose in the first place.

In the end, Dante swung wildly between being a peacemaker and an antagonist; sometimes when tempers boiled over, Dante himself was the catalyst to the fights.

Regardless of their less than stellar teamwork over those days, the trio managed to make remarkable progress towards reaching the demon king and devil tree. They were maybe no more than a week's worth of fighting and travel away, when V finally made a reappearance.

Nero and Dante had stepped out of the van for a private conversation, neither man really trusting Vergil with some of their plans; though Nero could not tell you where his distrust stemmed from. When Dante opened up the van's door to step back inside, the sickeningly sweet scent of chocolate filled his nose; though the bitterness of the coffee felt off to him. V sat hunched upon the seat, hands clenched in his dark, streaked hair, his face twisted into an expression of pain.

“V?” Dante questioned quietly, unsure if this was another of Vergil's tricks.

Green eyes clouded with pain, squinted up at Dante; lids swiftly slamming closed once more as the light sent stabbing pains shooting through his head. It was enough though, for Dante to know that it was really V in control now – Vergil must have either run out of power to hold possession over V, or had retreated now that V's heat was over. Dante would like to think that V had beaten Vergil back into submission, but he had a feeling that the other man was weakening; the human body was not built to sustain two opposing souls after all.

“Dante.....Nero.....” V's voice was hoarse, and he coughed harshly. “What...what happened? Where...?”

Dante and Nero hurriedly stepped into the van, gently closing the door behind them. Nero shot off a quick message to Nico to make sure she was quiet when she returned, and then hurried to grab V a drink from the mini fridge. V smiled gratefully at the younger hunter, sipping slowly at the cool beverage.

“What's the last thing you remember?” Dante queried, unsure of just how much V was aware of when not in control.

“I....I think I....my heat started?” V looked up in question at the men before him; receiving nods in confirmation. “Nero followed me into my room, and we...I mean things had started to...that is...”

Dante snorted at V's awkward explanation, enjoying the way Nero had flushed brightly also.

“Yeah I get what you mean V.” Dante chuckled. “What else after that do you remember?”

“I......” V stared blankly forwards, thoughts scrambling to find purchase in his mind. But nothing came forwards to reveal itself to him; just an all encompassing blankness, that hadn't lifted until just before, where he had found himself seated in the van with a pounding headache and overwhelming feeling of nausea.

“I can't remember anything after that. Not until just before you walked in just now.”

Dante and Nero shared a look. This wasn't good. It hadn't been good when Vergil had taken control over V's body before, but the times had been short and it hadn't seemed to affect the other man very much. But this time it had been several days, and whether it was the effect of being essentially held prisoner within his own body, or Vergil's forceful suppression of V's heat, the Omega did not look well.

“Vergil took over when we....” Nero also stuttered when talking about what had almost transpired between them, much to Dante's amusement. “Ummm, yeah...And he's held control over you ever since then.”

“How long has it been?” V's voice was small and scared, something neither man had heard from him before.

“Five days.” Dante was the one to break the news, and they watched as V closed his eyes as though in pain. Watched as his hands clenched even tighter around his drink, threatening to cause the liquid to spill out. “Hey, hey it's ok V. We're here for you ok?”

V looked up at them tiredly, face wan and drawn in unfamiliar lines of fear. “It was so easy for Vergil to take over my body like that. So easy for him to take control over me, and I never even realised. How easy is it for him really, to just keep me from ever regaining control at all? If his plan to reunite with his other half fails, will he just decide to take my body instead?”

Nero leapt from his place sitting on the van steps, hurrying to embrace V tightly, even as he swore to him to prevent that happening.

“We won't let that happen V. I promise you. No matter what, we won't let Vergil take you.” Nero pressed a firm kiss upon V's head, feeling the shaking that he could not stop.

“And I hate to be the one to say it...” Dante began hesitantly. “But Vergil probably wouldn't want to be a part of you permanently anyway.”

He felt himself swallow heavily as two gazes stared at him; one confused and hopeful, and the other watery and unsure. “V's an Omega. And although that doesn't make a difference to any of us, it would to Vergil. He has never seen them as anything other than weak and useless, so he would not wish to trap himself in the body of one.”

“But doesn't Vergil's Alpha override V's Omega when he is in control?” Nero questioned.

“Yeah, but that is possession.” Dante replied. “Sharing space in someone else's body is different from making it his own. Who knows, with the difference between A and O, Vergil might even end up screwing it all up and becoming a Beta instead!”

Dante didn't mention that it was also quite possible that Vergil's mere presence would very likely destroy V's, body without the other man's strong will keeping it together.

Nero seemed confused, but that didn't matter to him, as he could feel the way that V had sagged slightly in his hold. He could feel the other man was slightly embarrassed now about his outburst, but he didn't want to let him go. He carefully combed his fingers through V's messy locks, contentment filling him as V leaned slightly into his touch.

“Well, it never bothered me much being an Omega before, but I can only be glad that I am now.”

Dante smiled back at the other man, glad that they had sorted out half of this mess, and wondering if he should say something to them both about what Vergil had done. Maybe he should speak to Nero first on his own; or would speaking to V be the smarter way to go? Regardless, Dante didn't get a chance to think further on the matter, when V asked another question.

“Also, I was just wondering........has my nose been broken?”

Dante felt a flash of guilt cross his face, as Nero shrugged, also not knowing why.

“Let's just say that it was Vergil's fault, and we'll leave it at that ok?” Dante all but begged.

Honestly, it was the truth – mostly. And it seemed very probable to the younger two men, as each nodded and made no further comment regarding the broken bone. Vergil had not allowed anyone to treat the injury, so Dante now hurried to find the first aid kit, laying an ice pack carefully along the unsightly bruising, and pulling tape out to hold the bone in place. It had been amusing to see Vergil walk around with his twin black eyes, but neither could feel the same satisfaction when it was now V sporting them. Cream was carefully applied, and Dante prayed that the bruises would fade quickly.

V ended up curling up on the seat tiredly, his head resting on Nero's thigh after he had offered to act as pillow. After a short look of contemplation, V had agreed, laying his head down and closing his eyes. It didn't take him long to fall back asleep, Dante finding a blanket to cover his form up with. Nero found himself absent-mindedly running his hands through V's hair, combing out the slight tangles that had formed in the wavy tresses. It was as he was picking at a larger snarl that he first noticed the mark upon V's neck, just a peek of darkened red against the nape of his neck.

He brushed V's hair away from the area carefully, worried that V had gotten injured and was hiding it from them. It wasn't until he pulled back the collar on V's coat that his mind finally took in what he was seeing – a mating mark.

Nero made a choked noise in his throat, pulling Dante's attention towards himself sharply, and his eyes stared disbelievingly down at the damning mark.

“Da...Dante?” Nero's voice wavered, guilt rising up in his chest. “Who....why...? Why does V have a mating mark? Did...did I do that? Why hasn't he said anything to me?”

Dante dropped his head into his hands tiredly, the muttered curses he growled out, not reassuring Nero in the slightest.

“He doesn't know.” Dante grit out, jaw clenched tightly.

Nero was sure he had heard wrong. “What? How can V not know he's mated?”

With slow deliberation, as though unsure just how much he should reveal the the younger Alpha, Dante explained as much as he thought sensible to Nero. Of how Vergil had noticed V's body becoming unable to continue housing his Alpha and Sparda self, and his plan of mating him to strengthen him. Of how when Nero had fallen into his rut, Vergil had suppressed V, and gone to him and encouraged Nero to mate V in his unaware state. How he had hidden his actions from everyone, and how Dante had only discovered his actions after V had started his heat.

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you this days ago Nero,” Dante sighed heavily, scrubbing his hands down his face. “I should have told you as soon as I worked it all out.”

Nero sat in shocked silence, unable to process what Dante had just told him. He...he was mated, to V; an Omega he had only known for just over a month.... They were now joined for life, or until one of them died.

“It's....it's...I don't know what it is Dante. I mean I get you couldn't really say anything with Vergil hanging around, and I can't believe my own father would do that! Does he even care about what he has done?” Nero's words had started out softly, but by the end he was almost shouting, hands flying around wildly.

“And what about V? Do we tell V now too? Or do we have to hide this from him? Is that fair, or right? How is he going to feel knowing that I touched him when he wasn't even aware of it?”

Nero buried his head in his hands, disgust filling him at the thought of what he had done, unknowingly. His skin crawled at the thought, and he wanted to peel it off; wanted to scrub his skin raw and try to cleanse himself of his sin. Bile rose in his throat at the thought, made worse by the interest he had been developing in the other man before this. Had he gone along with it so willingly because he had wanted him so badly? Did he secretly want this himself, no matter what V had wanted?

“I...I raped him Dante.” Dante opened his mouth to protest, but Nero cut him off. “I raped V! He didn't consent to sharing my rut with me, and he sure as hell didn't consent to mating with me! So what else can you call it but rape?”

Dante sat beside Nero on the bench, hushing him gently as he pulled him into a tight hold. He ran a quick eye over V, noticing with thankfulness that he somehow remained asleep still – though having your heat forcefully suppressed couldn't have done him any favours – and got to work soothing Nero.

“It wasn't your fault Nero. Vergil knew what he was doing, and he used you both. Don't forget, that you didn't agree to any of that either.” Dante held up a hand to stop Nero speaking. “You were in the middle of your rut. There is no way you could have been in the right state of mind, and Vergil took advantage.”

“As for telling V....I don't know.”

“I suggest you tell V, and soon.” Nico's voice startled both men, causing them to jump, eyes darting towards the open door of the van. Her arms were crossed angrily over her chest, brows furrowed deeply.

“How much did you hear?” Nero asked meekly, eyes falling away from his friend's piercing gaze.

“Enough to know that it wasn't your fault, no matter how much you are trying to take the blame. And also enough to know that V deserves to know the truth also. This is going to affect the both of you, and throwing the added complication of Vergil sharing V's body, we don't know what is going to happen now. He needs to know, and more than that, he _deserves_ to know.”

“Yeah, yeah he does.” Nero closed his eyes against the tears that threatened to fall, wishing he could go back a few days, weeks, months even, and fix this whole mess.

“Do you want me to tell him kiddo?” Dante offered gently, but Nero shook his head.

“No. I think that I need to be the one to tell V. It's my...” he choked back the words _'my fault'_ at Nico's glare. “It's my life that's been affected too. We need to work this out together.”

Dante nodded at his decision, clearly worried for the younger man, but knowing that there wasn't anything he could do to help them in this situation. He watched as Nero unconsciously ran his fingers through V's hair, combing out more tangles – almost unconsciously seeking comfort in the touch of his Omega – and hoped that everything would turn out ok for the young pair.

“So, when...?” Nico's question jolted Nero back to attention, his gaze flickering down to take in the shadows beneath V's eyes.

“Tomorrow. I'll tell him tomorrow. But for now, let's let him rest ok?”

The other two nodded, both taking in the sight of the exhausted Omega resting against Nero's thigh; and knowing that tomorrow could change everything.


	6. Chapter 6

V woke with a pounding headache, eyes gazing blurrily around, trying to take in his surroundings. His head was resting against something firm, and turning his head slowly, V realised he had fallen asleep upon Nero's legs; the man himself sleeping uncomfortably upright on the seat, head tilted back and mouth parted slightly to allow soft snores to escape.

With a muffled curse, V tried to remove himself from Nero's space, ending up tangling himself in the blanket he hadn't realised had been laid upon him, and falling harshly to the ground. Blinking rapidly to try to clear the spots from his vision, V groaned as his blunder had woken everyone in the van.

Nero snorted out a surprised sound, shooting up in his seat; arms flailing around trying to feel for V. Dante's tousled head appeared from the front seat, sleepy eyes taking in the mass of confusion V presented, tangled as he was on the ground. Nico stumbled out of the sleeping area, eyes squinting at the light filtering into the van, one hand rubbing over her face tiredly, the other waving a gun around wildly.

Nero finally seemed to realise where V had disappeared to, his hand reaching out to clumsily help untangle him from the blanket. V shook his head at the offer to stand, his head throbbing worse than ever now. His hand rubbed at the back of his neck, and the zing of sensation that shot through him caused him to gasp in surprise. He had no idea what that was, and honestly he was too tired to work it out right now, even if his mind screamed at him to understand. He was tired, grumpy and there was a strange, vague sense of dread and worry lingering in the back of his mind; but somehow V got the feeling that it wasn't him that was feeling that.

“V.....” Nero's voice was hoarse with sleep, his mouth tilted down in a slight frown, as he observed the man before him.

“Nero. What is going on?” V questioned, hand questing to explore that spot on his neck again, freezing as he felt the indents of teeth marks there, tiredness fleeing from his mind instantly.

Nero watched as V froze, watched as his fingers moved hesitantly over his neck, surely having discovered the mark by now. He watched as V's eyes widened and filled with dismay, shooting up to look into his own guilty eyes, face whitening as he seemed to come to a conclusion.

“No...” V breathed out in horror, scrambling backwards hastily, back slamming against the van wall. “No...you didn't...you couldn't have. Nero?”

“V, I....” Nero couldn't continue, his voice stuck somewhere in his throat, the words choking him as he stared down at the terrified man.

“V, it's not what you think.” Dante's low, calm voice, broke their locked stare, V's head turning to look at the older Alpha, even as he kept sight of Nero in the corner of his eye. “Vergil...”

“Dante, don't.” Nero's voice interrupted, shooting the other man a pleading look. “I said that I would tell V, and I will. Just...can you guys give us a bit of time alone?”

Dante and Nico both nodded; Nico disappearing for a moment to throw on some clothes, before they exited the van. Dante clasped an encouraging hand upon Nero's shoulder as he left, offering his support.

“Just hear Nero out before you jump to conclusions yeah?” Dante advised V, the man looking pale and wan where he had curled into himself. V stared at Dante with wide eyes, but he didn't turn down the advice, and in this situation, Dante was going to count that as a win. Moments later, it was just the two younger men left in the van, the silence thick and deafening.

“Nero?” V's voice trembled slightly, jolting Nero from his frozen state.

“I....” Nero hesitated, unsure of how to begin to explain everything, when he had barely had time to come to terms with it himself.

“You had probably already noticed, but your body wasn't coping well with hosting another soul within your body, an Alpha _and_ a Sparda at that.” V nodded quietly, having realised he was tiring faster, feeling weaker that normal, the longer Vergil shared his body. His hair had been changing, his body falling apart; though why Vergil being a Sparda – whatever that was – meant anything, V didn't know. “Vergil noticed it too, and he decided to do something about it.”

Nero swallowed heavily, knowing he needed to continue before he lost his nerve. “He decided that the best way to do that would be to...to...”

“To?” V prodded, when Nero's voice trailed off.

“To find you a mate.” V's eyes flickered towards Nero, not sure if he wanted him to continue or not. Somehow, he felt that this was going to get a lot worse. “He waited until I was in the middle of my rut and took control of your body. I..I didn't realise that it wasn't you in control at the time, and I must have taken you and mated you. In the morning everything was back to normal, and I thought that it had all been a really good rut dream; but yesterday I found out the truth of what I had done to you.”

Nero fell silent after his confession, head bowed and eyes squeezed shut tightly. He was waiting for V to explode – to yell and shout at him, to blame Nero for taking advantage of him like that. He deserved it, but it didn't make the though of V's ire any less distressing.

“I am so sorry that happened Nero.”

Nero's head jerked up in shock, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. “Wait, what? It should be me apologising to you! I'm the one who raped you! I marked you without your consent, and have bound us together for life! I should be the one on my knees begging for your forgiveness.”

V had risen from the ground and shuffled closer to Nero, hands laying carefully upon the agitated man's knees soothingly.

“It's not your fault Nero, and I don't blame you. _You_ didn't rape me, because as far as you were aware, I consented to everything that happened. The one at fault here is Vergil, and Vergil alone. We were used as pawns for his own purposes once again, and neither of us had a choice.” Tears gathered in Nero's eyes, the white haired man not having believed that V would forgive him, no matter what Nico and Dante had said. Guilt had eaten him up inside at the thought of what he had done; but hearing from V's own mouth that he didn't blame him....well, it helped.

“It's not your fault Nero.” V kept repeating, climbing onto the couch and pulling Nero's head to rest upon his shoulder. V held Nero as he sobbed, his own mind racing as the tried to take in the consequences of Vergil's actions, his hand running through his hair gently. At some point, Nero fell into an exhausted, emotion wreaked sleep, not even noticing when the door to the van opened, heralding Dante and Nico's reappearance.

The sight of the two men curled together on the seat managed to ease the pair's worries, though the hard look in V's eyes made Dante stiffen slightly. Looking the older man in the eye, V made sure his intentions were known.

“When we reunite Vergil with his own body, I am going to punch him so hard, he will wish he stayed in the Underworld.”

“Fair.” Dante tilted his head in agreement, feeling that the action was more than deserved. “And Nero?”

“He's ok. Or... he _will_ be. I don't think he is handling this as well as he pretends he is. But we'll get there.” Dante couldn't help the feeling of relief that washed over him at the sound of that firm 'we' V spoke.

V looked down at the man sleeping restlessly against him, before raising his eyes towards Dante again. “We need a way to keep Vergil from taking over like he has been; any trust there ever was, is well and truly gone. I cannot allow him to continue to use my body as he wishes.”

“I don't know what I can do to help, but I will do my best.” Dante promised.

“That is all I can ask.” V tiredly responded, head pounding now, worse than ever. “You have my thanks Dante.”

Things continued on in this vein for the next few weeks, each day bringing them closer to the Qliphoth tree and their ultimate goal. Vergil tried to take over V's conscious a few times, and regardless of whether or not the possession would have aided or hindered them, the quartet did what they could to try to prevent it from happening.

Nico discovered by accident, that if they could remind V of all of the things that made him _V_ , and that tied him to his own identity, he could resist losing control, though the effort often left him weak and trembling – the Alpha within his mind's anger, enough to send his Omega sensibilities cowering. V promptly told his instincts to sod off grumpily, and continued to fight for control over his own body.

Nero ended up being the biggest help in keeping Vergil at bay, their mate bond helping V to anchor himself to reality, and not let himself be pushed aside. His presence, or scent, and especially his touch, helped ground V in a way that he had never experienced before, and even when he wasn't in the middle of an attack, he found himself unconsciously seeking out that closeness, all the while berating himself for his weakness in needing an Alpha to give him strength.

Dante watched over the younger man, worry and anger warring within his mind as he watched the brother he had thought he'd lost, tear the Omega's mind apart trying to take control. He could see how the very act of hosting Vergil's presence in his body was wearing V down day by day, without the added stress of Vergil trying to control his every move. Luckily for them all, Nero's Alpha seemed to be very in tune – and over-protective – of 'his' Omega, and he could seem to sense when Vergil's Alpha rose to the surface, giving them all ample opportunity to suppress the other man.

Dante worried though, because as much as they were holding Vergil back now, it was an undeniable fact that they would have to let him emerge eventually; and there was no knowing just what he might do to them all, when he was finally able to release the anger he was building at being suppressed. And it would be V that ended up paying the ultimate price in the end, no matter what he tried to pretend. But Vergil would need to be the one that faced this demon they were hunting; Vergil's other half, if he were to be believed, and there would be no getting around that. No one had any idea just what would happen to V once Vergil withdrew from his host, the man himself saying he was not sure – though more likely he was just uncaring – whether the other would survive the separation or not. Neither Dante nor Nero believed a word he said.

Their journey was slowed further, as V started faltering. Nero fretted endlessly as V struggled to find the appetite to eat their quickly dwindling rations; watched as dark shadows started appearing permanently beneath his eyes as sleep eluded him night after night. Nero had taken to lying beside V at night, holding the leaner man in his arms, just to make sure he did not disappear from his sight as he slept.

It had happened before; the group had settled down to rest, each wrinkling their nose in disgust as the safest place had been none other than the sewers. Dante had taken first watch, crouched outside the tunnel to ward off any surprise attacks that the demons might try to launch. Nico huddled in the cleanest corner she could find, trying not to touch anything that looked suspicious....which was pretty much everything.

Nero had found a dry-ish patch of ground, flopping down unceremoniously upon his back, eyes lazily looking around to find V. Once he caught sight of the other man reading quietly under a small patch of light shining through, his heavy eyes fell closed and sleep claimed him.

No one had been awake or aware when Vergil had risen up like a tidal wave of anger and blasted through V's mental walls, the scent of charcoal and brimstone lingering bitterly in the air, long after the man himself had disappeared.

They hadn't realised that there was another exit from the sewers, panic overtaking them all when Dante dropped back down to change watch shifts with Nero. He had raised the alarm when he had caught the scent of his brother, eyes scanning the area frantically to locate the younger man.

When Nero woke, the feeling of confused fear, and helplessness, struck him through his bond with V. He didn't even need Dante to tell him what happened, leaping to his feet and following the scent trail left behind unerringly. Dante had cursed as the other man had taken off, disappearing before they could regroup, urgently waking Nico and half dragging the confused woman along with them. It didn't take long for her to realise what was happening, her half-stumbling steps gaining strength, until she ran unaided by Dante's side.

By the time they had caught up to Nero, the young hunter had already managed to catch Vergil. He had the other pinned to the ground face down, Vergil struggling furiously against the hold, even as Nero tried not to hurt him – he wanted to stop Vergil, not hurt V.

“Stop!” The Alpha in Nero's voice made Vergil pause briefly in his struggles, before his own stronger Alpha overrode the order.

“STOP!” Dante's order froze Vergil in place for a few moments, and Nero breathed a premature sigh of relief. As such, he was almost thrown off Vergil's back, when he startled struggling once more, snarls of fury falling from his lips.

“HOW DARE YOU? _HOW DARE YOU!”_ Vergil's voice was warped by his anger, shredding V's vocal chords as he raged. “You are not worthy to command me! No one shall! Never again!”

In desperation, Nero leaned forwards and bit upon the mating mark upon the back of V's neck – the awful, screaming tirade of Vergil's, falling abruptly silent. Dante crept forwards cautiously, Rebellion held at the ready in his hand, crouching before the now silent man. Nero kept his teeth still clamped tightly around the marked flesh, unwilling to let go until he knew it was safe.

“V? Buddy, you in there?” Dante called out, voice softening to coax the Omega out, after withstanding the full rage of an Alpha. V might have been one of the strongest and most independent Omegas that he had ever met, but no one could withstand that amount of Alpha rage, without consequences.

Glazed blue eyes shifted to try to find Dante, green starting to bleed in from the edges, and Dante breathed in a silent sigh of relief. Nero made a small, questioning sound; but Dante shook his head. No, it wasn't safe to release his hold, not yet anyway. He reached out his free hand, laying it carefully on V's sweaty cheek, pulling it back quickly as sharpened teeth snapped at the appendage.

Nero growled lowly at the sight, his teeth sinking in further unconsciously. The body beneath him went slack suddenly, tension bleeding from his tightly strung frame, leaving Nero no other option than to release his hold. Either that or risk tearing a chunk out of the back of V's neck.

Dante held up a hand towards Nero, telling him to remain vigilant in his position atop V, as he leant forwards once more. Green eyes filled with helplessness stared up at him, the scent of coffee and chocolate starting to fill the area; though the scent held the sour tang of fear and helplessness also. Dante smiled reassuringly towards V, nodding towards Nero, who had not needed the confirmation to gather V up into his arms tightly.

V had not cried, had not fallen apart like he had wanted to; he had simply buried his nose in Nero's throat, breathing in his calming scent; swallowing down the lump in his throat and the screams that threatened to burst free. Nico had all but thrown herself into the hold, clutching at V tightly also. Dante had been pulled in, given no choice as Nico yanked him over, though he had worried his scent would further disturb V. Instead he had seemed to relax further in Nero's arms, the familiar smells surrounding him, and helping him ground himself once more.

Nero had apologised for biting V again later, when things had settled down in a new safe spot, none of the four wishing to return to the sewers. V had not blamed Nero for the action, instead thanking him quietly for stopping him, and telling Nero that if he ever had to do so again, he had permission to stop him however he could – even if that meant hurting him. Nero had protested, but V had been adamant. If getting hurt meant that he could stop Vergil from doing unspeakable things while in control of his body, V would rather recover from that, than have to live with the knowledge of what he had done. Nero had held V that night as the other finally fell into an exhausted slumber, and the habit had started from then. Nero had no longer been able to sleep, without knowing that V was lying beside him.

And so Nero worried and fretted, frequently trying to keep V from the fighting, even as he grumbled that he was capable of helping to kill the demons they came across. Oft times he would be pushed gently into Nico's van, told to rest up and meet them at their next location, as Nero and Dante fought to clear the streets of the amassed demons.

V would grumble and complain at their insistence, but deep down, he knew that he was not well. Every one of his joints ached, as though old age had come for him early. His once dark hair had numerous streaks of white, the stress on his body too great. His skin was starting to stick to his bones, stretched too tight, the flesh crumbling and flaking away. V knew all of this, could feel it happening, and knew that he would likely not survive to see the end of this war they seemed to be waging.

He asked Vergil, pleaded with him, begged him to know......had the plan always been for V to die?

All that met him was silence, and that was answer enough.


	7. Chapter 7

Nero woke with a scream, burning pain erupting from where his devil breaker was attached to the remains of his arm. His pain filled eyes slitted open, managing to take in the horrifying sight of Dante, not five paces from him, laying face down upon the ground, Rebellion stabbed through his back and bleeding out.

Clutching at his bleeding stump, Nero tried to raise himself from the ground, desperately scanning the area for V. All he could find was V's coat, neatly folded upon the ground, where the other had been using it as a pillow on the hard ground. Other than that, there was not a single trace to be found; and Nero knew. He knew that Vergil had managed to break through once more, had torn his arm off – for the gods-be-damned second time! - and stabbed Dante to keep them from following him.

Pain thrummed through Nero's veins, even as he struggled to reach Dante, unsure if the older man yet still lived or not. He made it not even a step towards him when his legs gave out, crashing down to his knees with a cry of agony tearing itself from his throat as he landed heavily upon his injured arm. His phone tumbled from his pocket as he fell, and with the last of his strength, Nero dialled a familiar number with trembling fingers.

“Yeah?” The sound of Nico's sleep roughened voice, was enough to bring tears to Nero's eyes.

“N-Nico....” Nero's voice broke, harsh breaths being forced from his lungs.

“Nero? Wha...what's happened?”

“Help,” Nero forced the word out. “Help please. Bring healing....”

“Nero? Nero!” Nico's frantic voiced echoed along the line, but Nero had already passed out.

Cursing herself for a fool for choosing to stay in her van and out of the line of fire, Nico raced to grab the tub of healing gel and vials, snatching up the more mundane first aid kit along the way. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her towards where she knew the trio had been planning to sleep for the night. The Qliphoth tree hovered menacingly above them; the group perhaps only a half day away from where the roots sprouted.

When she arrived at their resting place, what little colour Nico had gained from her run, drained from her face. Dante lay bleeding and run through by his own sword; only the very faint movement of his chest signalling his continued survival. Nero....It was like back in Fortuna all over again, when that demon had come and ripped his arm off.

The port where the devil breakers attached to had been torn clean off of his arm, flesh and sinew hanging uselessly from the remaining stump. Blood pooled around his body, and his skin was turning ashen from blood loss.

Having to make the difficult decision on who to try to help first, Nico decided to tend to Nero. Although Dante looked bad, his devil seemed to be keeping him stable for the moment, and the sword was keeping the blood loss at bay. That decided, Nico raced to Nero's side, crashing down to her knees, and withdrawing the tub of healing gel. Scooping a handful up, she shoved it into Nero's mouth to start the healing, cursing when she realised the other man was too out of it to swallow.

Tilting his head back carefully, Nico rubbed vigorously at his throat, demanding that he swallow the gel.

“Don't you dare even think of dying on me here Nero, what the hell would I tell Kyrie and the kids hey? They'd be devastated and all that. Come on, Nero. Come on!”

Finally, finally Nero's throat convulsed, the gel sliding down and causing him to choke out a pained cough. Unable to pause in her relief, Nico grabbed a hold of yet more gel, squeezing her eyes closed, before smearing it all over the bleeding stump of Nero's arm, cringing as her hand touched the weeping, torn flesh. Pushing through the nausea that she felt, the bleeding finally started to slow, and Nico scooped up more gel to cover the entire area. Wiping her bloodied hands upon her shorts, Nico tearfully informed Nero that he now owed her a new pair, before she opened the first aid kit and pulled bandages and gauze from within. Dipping the gauze into the gel, Nico covered the end of the stump, applying more and more until the blood finally stopped seeping through, then bandaged the whole thing up tightly.

Just to be safe, Nico tipped one of the healing vials down Nero's throat, relieved when he swallowed on his own this time. With nothing more she was able to do for Nero, Nico laid him carefully back on the ground, and turned towards Dante. Standing above the older man, Nico was terrified at the sight of the giant sword impaled through his back, though she noticed a smaller sword mark beside it. Sickening thoughts of whether or not it had severed his spine floated through her mind, but she couldn't just leave him there. She had also noted with a sense of dread, that there was not a single sign of V to be found, and no signs of a struggle either. Knowing what she did, she had a feeling she could work out what had happened.

With her blood stained hands, Nico wrapped both of her hands around the hilt of Rebellion, tugging with all of her might. It took her several tries to finally pull the sword free from Dante with a squelch, the sword having been embedded into the ground below the man also. Dropping the heavy blade with a clatter, Nico slathered more healing gel upon the older man, though the effort hardly seemed necessary as his body was already healing itself.

Dante woke with a pained groan, his devil hurriedly healing what it could of his injuries, and came face to knee with a bloodied, and frantic Nico tending to him. It didn't take him long to piece together what had happened, and he gratefully took the healing vial Nico handed to him to speed the remainder of his recovery along.

Sometime during the night, Vergil had managed to break V's hold over him, and had decided it was time for the two of them to part ways with the Sparda hunters. He had obviously known that they wouldn't let him go, and had dealt with them before he left.

Dante, he had taken by surprise; sleepiness and exhaustion having taken it's toll on him. Summoning the, until now, missing Yamato and running him through. He had torn the sword from his body when Dante had retaliated, knocking Rebellion from his surprised grasp, before knocking him down and pinning like a butterfly on a board. He had then turned towards Nero, wondering just how he could deal with the younger man, deciding that pinning him also would be boring. His wandering eyes had finally landed upon the gleaming devil breaker, a cruel smile spreading across his face. Without a second thought, Vergil had stepped in close, freezing briefly when Nero's eyes had slitted open.

“Hmm...V?” Nero's voice was hazy with sleep, his mind unable to focus on the man before him.

Before he could even think of doing anything foolish, such as resisting, Vergil had taken a hold of his arm, and with a boost of his unnatural strength, had torn the port from the already scarred flesh. He had a moment of sadistic glee, before he had dropped the breaker, turning to hurry towards where his other half was waiting for him. Behind him, he left two broken and unconscious men, uncaring of their fates.

And now Dante knew that he would have to go deal with him, and in all probability, he would have to kill V to do so. Squaring his shoulders, and setting his face in a hard mask, Dante stepped forwards to meet his brother. He knew that Nico would take care of Nero, knew that the younger man would be angry at him for leaving him behind; but he also knew that Nero would not be able to kill his own mate, if that is what it would take to save the world this time.

Nico sat on her bent knees, eyes filled with sorrow, as she watched the retreating back of the older hunter.

Vergil walked away from the bodies of the two men he had been travelling with, uncaring whether or not they survived, mind set upon his own self-imposed task. To track down, and rejoin with his demonic half.

The demons swarming the area at first mistook Vergil as an easy target, the stench of humanness permeating from the body he inhabited, inviting them to attack easy prey. They soon learnt their mistake, as Vergil drew the Yamato, her power singing fiercely, and cutting them down with barely a twitch of his stolen hand.

His nose wrinkled in disgust, as blood splattered over his naked chest, this borrowed body not moving in quite the same way as his own. If Vergil had been in his own, much superior body, not a drop would have touched him But needs must, and he was just lucky that V had been weakened enough to allow him to take total control. He could vaguely hear the other man, screaming and beating at the walls he had put up to contain him, though the sound was easily ignored. If he stopped to think about it even briefly, a small stab of pity would creep in for V, but not enough to deter him from his plan.

It was a bloodied and annoyed Vergil that walked cockily into the self proclaimed 'throne room' of his own demonic half, a sneer crossing his face as he took in the demon lazing indolently upon a throne made out of the roots of the Qliphoth tree.

'Urizen', as the other demons had taken to calling him, eyed Vergil in return – and he did not seem impressed with what he saw.

“Well, well. An Omega are you now?” Urizen mocked, himself having no gender, secondary or otherwise. He supposed he could be male, as Vergil had been, but he doubted such things mattered much to demons in the long run.

“The body I may inhabit may be held back by such weakness, but believe me when I say that I am all Alpha.” Growled Vergil. “It is time to end this idiotic plan of yours Urizen, we both know that you have not the brains nor the power alone, to complete this task.”

Urizen growled, dark magic swirling angrily around him, but found that he could not refute Vergil's claims. Although he had managed to get this far into their previously thought out plan, he himself had stalled on how to proceed further. He may have become the stronger of the pair when they had been split, but the human half had taken the intelligence with him.

Vergil smirked up at the demon, and without waiting for his response, summoned the Yamato to his hand once more. He could see the greed and envy within Urizen's gaze, knew that the demon wished that she would answer to his call, and stared straight into his hidden eyes as he plunged the blade into his chest once more.

Pain ripped through his body as he held the sword steady, tearing his soul from with his stolen vessel. Vergil could feel the Yamato de-materialising within his weakening hold, his soul detaching itself from V's body. When he was finally free once more – once again a glowing ball of light – V's body dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

Leaving the Omega where he lay broken and bleeding, Vergil streaked towards Urizen, the demon opening his arms wide to receive him. With a blinding flash of light, body and soul reunited once more, and Vergil was made whole once again.

Once the transformation was complete, Vergil held his hand up before his eyes, a smile tilting his lips as his own hand met his gaze. Clenching his fist before him, Yamato appeared within his clenched fingers, and wild joy filled his being. He was so lost in glee, that he almost missed the arrival of Dante, only instinct managing to deflect Rebellion from plunging itself though his chest as a returned gesture.

“Dante...” Vergil drawled, shifting into a fighting stance. “How nice of you to join me.”

“Where's V?” Dante ground out angrily, unwilling to take his eyes off of Vergil for even a moment.

“Oh, the Omega? It was a pity, but I had to sacrifice him to be released. You know how it is.” Vergil faked sadness, though the mocking lilt to his words belied the sentiment. “Though it is a shame. He would have made such a delightfully pretty breeding bitch.”

All coherent thought fled from Dante's mind at those words, his anger getting the better of him, and he lunged towards Vergil with a feral cry of rage.


	8. Chapter 8

Steel clashed with steel; Dante's leap having brought him up close to Vergil, sword swinging viciously towards the man who he once called brother. Vergil blocked his swing with almost insulting ease, the little smirk he wore infuriating Dante further.

“Oh brother mine, did my words affect you so?” He mocked. “If that is the case, you cannot hope to best me in combat here. To be goaded by such meaningless words, about such a meaningless existence no less...!”

Dante snarled angrily, skin pulling tight across his body as his inner devil roiled beneath the surface. He wanted to refute Vergil's words, but even in his anger he could see the truth in the heartless statements. If Dante allowed himself to lose his head over Vergil's comments, then there was no way he would be able to keep a clear enough mind to defeat the smug bastard. So he flipped out of the way of Yamato's swing, jumping back a few more paces, and took several deep calming breaths.

Finally managing to lock his anger and fear back up within himself, Dante looked up towards where Vergil waited for him to strike again – his almost negligently causal pose almost enough to rile him up again. One more deep breath, and Dante was ready to face him once more.

Seeing the renewed look of determination and suppressed emotion within Dante's eyes, Vergil's face lit up maniacally.

“Yes, yes that's it. Fight me with everything you have, so that I can strike you down when you are at your best.” Vergil's eyes glowed with a crazed fervour as they tracked Dante's movements. “First I will defeat you, then there will be no one left to stand in the way of my plans.

Sparks flew from their blades as steel scraped against steel, the scowl on Dante's face falling into surprised horror as he realised just how little effort Vergil was having to expend to fend off his attacks. Pushing against Vergil's block, Dante caught his breath, finally managing to push the older man back a few inches.

“Wrong,” he snarled, disengaging and leaping forwards in a flurry of swings. “Even if I fall here, Nero will not allow you to succeed.”

“That weak whelp?” Vergil drawled in disdain, almost lazily parrying Dante's increasingly desperate hits. “He could no more defeat me than that pitiful Omega could stop me from taking over his body. He must have gained that weakness from the mother, such potential wasted. No matter; he too will learn that I am nigh undefeatable now that I have consumed the fruit of the Qliphoth tree. As shall you Dante.”

Without any further warning, Vergil launched his attack. What Dante had thought was a challenging, but fairly evenly matched fight, soon turned very one-sided with himself on the defensive and unable to counter. It was almost all he could do to keep from being hit, and even he wasn't able to avoid every strike. Blood oozed sluggishly from various cuts that he obtained, his body struggling to repair the damage, though slowed significantly after the healing he had had to endure after being run through.

Tiredness was taking it's toll on Dante, and finally it caused him to stumble as he blocked Vergil's overhead strike. The Yamato screeched angrily as she slid down Rebellions blade, sparks lighting up Dante's wan face eerily. With a disappointed pout, Vergil withdrew his blade, preparing to land the finishing blow.

“I am disappointed brother mine. I had thought that you might pose a challenge for me, but it would appear that I was mistaken. At least with this final strike, there can be no argument over who the superior Sparda is.”

Raising Yamato to shoulder height, Vergil shifted seamlessly into his preferred stance; face painted in false lines of regret.

“Farewell Dante, I shall meet you on the other side!”

Dante knelt on the ground, hand shaking around the hilt of Rebellion; too tired to even think of lifting the blade. He looked up at Vergil's words, watching as both brother and blade drew closer and closer to himself, unwilling to look away in this last moment before death greeted him. He searched Vergil's face for any sign that the other man would pull his strike – would not aim for the killing blow – but there was nothing there but disdain and a cold detachedness that had taken him over since the moment he had been left to fend for himself that day long ago, when their house had burnt, and their lives irrevocably changed forever.

Behind Vergil, Dante could just make out the prone form of V; the darkened puddle surrounding him having grown ever larger as the Alpha pair had fought. He apologised in his mind to the younger man, wishing that none of this had ever happened to him, knowing that he had done the best he could in the situation he had unwittingly found himself in. Dante knew that if Vergil had possessed another person, that things would have been much worse, that Vergil would not have had to fight for control over his stolen body, and would have been free to wreak havoc to his heart's content as he made his way back to his other half.

Tears started to blur Dante's vision then, wondering if this was the last memory he would take with him to the afterlife – the sight of a man who had become family, laying cold and practically dead upon the ground, his own brother rapidly approaching to end his miserable existence.

In that final moment before Yamato pierced through him once more – through his heart this time, not just his chest; Vergil would want to make sure the deed was successful this time – Dante's eyes slipped closed. No matter how he wished to meet death with an iron resolve, he found that he could not bear to watch the man he had once known as brother, end his life like this.

Waiting for that moment of agony, for the cold kiss of steel tearing through his heart, letting his lifeblood spill forth, Dante's breath stalled in his lungs. A great woosh of wind buffed against his form, causing him to sway dangerously, the sound of steel impacting against a foreign material ringing loudly in his ears.

Managing to pry his eyes open, Dante stared in dumbfounded shock as what he assumed to be Nero, stood tall before him; body transformed – his devil trigger finally having revealed itself. A movement at the edge of his vision, revealed Nico knelt by V's side, frantically shoving healing gel into the sluggishly bleeding wound that ran him through. Her hands were already coated in Dante and Nero's blood, her clothes and skin bearing smears from where she had wiped her hands. A smudge on her cheek was broken up by the tear tracks that fell down her face, though her mouth was set in a look of grim determination. Every one of her motions spoke of her fear and her anger at the situation, and Dante could see her mouth move; imagining her threatening V not to die on her or she would surely kill him.

Relieved that V was being taken care of, Dante turned towards the two men standing before him. Nero's Devil Trigger was a beautiful sight, large spectral wings reaching forwards to grip at the Yamato, Red Queen and Blue Rose held firmly within his own two hands. Letting his own transformation overtake him, Dante rose from the ground, Rebellion returning to his hand at his call.

Vergil stepped back slightly, a manic look of glee upon his twisted face. “Well, well. It looks as though a new challenger has finally arrived. What fun this shall be to defeat you both!” With the last shouted word, Vergil transformed not into his normal Devil Trigger, but into a monstrous form that Dante had never seen before. This was the last piece of evidence that his brother was no longer; this was just an imposter wearing his face – Vergil had died long ago, when he had first fallen into the Underworld.

Without another moment of hesitation, Dante and Nero attacked.

Nico had been tiredly resting her head against her bent knees when Nero had sat up unexpectedly with an agonised scream of despair. His eyes had flown open, blue eyes wide and sightless as he gazed into the distance, unable to see what was before him. His stump of an arm had waved about wildly, the young hunter too out of his mind to realise that he no longer had the use of the tech, his remaining hand curling into a fist upon the ground.

Nico had tumbled back in terror, the shifting beneath Nero's skin horrifying her, even as she suspected what was happening.

“V!” Nero's voice was a frenzied howl of pain and anguish, the amount of despair contained within that single vowel enough to stop Nico's heart for a moment.

An unnatural wind started to pick up the longer Nero cried out in mourning, his short, moonlit locks ruffling in the breeze. Nico gasped as the flurry increased, having to shield her eyes to protect them from the flying debris. When the wind had finally died down, Nico could not believe the being that stood before her was Nero.

The thing – Nero – stood panting before her; head with it's newly formed horns, and long, white hair lowered. His skin had changed from the tan of a healthy young man, to a strange and varied blue; clenched hands – hands, plural! – were tipped in wicked looking claws. Upon the ground Nico could see the shattered remains of the broken connector port that had been attached to Nero's arm, her disbelieving mind unable to register the impossibility of regrowing a limb. These damned half and quarter devil Spardas! Just what couldn't they do?

The sound of knuckles cracking drew her attention over Nero's shoulders, brightly glowing blue wings looking ready to fight, hovered angrily over his shoulders.

If ever Nico had needed a reminder that Nero was not just an abnormally stupid and strong human, here it was. Her breath caught in her lungs as Nero finally raised his head, glowing golden eyes with cat slit pupils stared blankly into the distance, sadness filling the inhuman orbs. She had not a moment to absorb these new changes before Nero suddenly moved; Nico shouting in shock as the tub of healing gel was thrown towards her, the container bruising her where it struck her chest.

It proved to be the least of her problems though, when in the next moment, she felt herself grasped tightly around her arms and a strange feeling of weightlessness overtook her. A single glace down was enough to send her pulse racing, the ground far below her, and growing further and further away; a quick glace upwards showing Nero's glowing wings propelling them forwards. It took a moment longer for the situation to register in her mind, and when if finally did, she shrieked and wrapped herself as firmly around Nero as she could; arms and legs squeezing so tightly, a normal human would have had trouble breathing through the restriction.

A muffled snort of what might have been amusement escaped Nero, though Nico wondered if she had imagined the sound; her demonic friend looked solemn and focused. The wind buffeted against Nico's skin, chilling her to the bone, but that was nothing compared to the sudden sound of distress that escaped Nero's mouth. With a sense of dread already filling her, Nico turned her head to take in the scene before her.

A throne made of twisted demonic vines and other materials, sat proudly upon a raised platform, as though to let the one seated there gaze down upon those beneath him. The area seemed to be completely enclosed, though Nico had a feeling that they were still somehow outside, the vines creating a dome surrounding them. Below them, Nico could see the whirling forms of both Dante and another man, one who she thought looked familiar, but couldn't work out who it was. Tension thrummed through her veins, her eyes frantically scanning the area for V, a little cry escaping her, as she finally saw what Nero had already seen.

Nero swooped closer to the ground, wings flaring out to slow their descent slightly, his voice growling out a pleading command.

“Save him, please Nico. Save him, please.”

She was not even given a moment to respond, before the tight grip that had been upon her arms was loosened, and Nico found herself falling those last few feet to land on the ground, Nero immediately shooting skywards once more. Praying that Nero would be alright, Nico scrambled towards V, knees hitting the ground harshly as she took in the younger man's still form.

He was lying on his front, head turned slightly to the side, eyes closed in a mockery of a peaceful expression. If she hadn't known better, Nico might have mistaken him as merely sleeping, but the darkened red stain upon his back, and the ever widening pool of blood beneath him, would have destroyed those assumptions.

Unable to avoid the blood, not if she wanted to get close enough to help, Nico held back her nausea and crept forwards. Her hands trembled around the container of healing items, still clutched within her grasp, as she desperately held her hand beside his face; hoping, praying that she would feel a breath upon her palm.

  
There!

There is was, shallow and barely felt, but still there. Relief flooded Nico as she scooped handfuls of the rapidly diminishing gel out and pushed it into V's wounds, hesitantly turning him over when his back wound started scabbing over. Tears slid silently from down her face, as she carefully turned him, eyes taking in the deathly pallor of his ruined skin. The front of his body had been all but destroyed, leaving both the sword wound and a horrible burn mark visible through the crimson coating. Though no one had ever mentioned it, most likely to spare V, they had noticed the marking – probably a remnant of where Vergil's soul had originally entered his body. The exit wound had made the mark ten times worse, as obviously Vergil had taken little to no care to avoid harming his host this time.

Wasting not a single moment more, Nico poured a vial of healing liquid into the gaping wound in V's body, praying that it would heal anything inside the other man, that had been injured when the passed through. A tiny gasped breath escaped V then, his body starting to shudder violently, even as Nico tried to hold him still, lest he reopen his slowly healing wounds. The moment passed quickly, V's body lacking the energy left to continue it's unconscious movements.

Nico heaved out a sigh, smoothing the gel over V's chest, and watching as the flesh knit itself together slowly. His breathing started to even out slightly, his previously stuttering heartbeat, steadying into something more akin to a normal rhythm. She smoothed her hand over his tangled locks of hair, grimacing at the streaks of red she left upon the whitened strands.

The sudden thud of a body landing beside them jarred Nico from her contemplation of V's healing form, her brown eyes darting worriedly towards the sound. Fear gripped at her heart then, as she took in the bleeding form of Dante, obviously exhausted and having lost his Devil Trigger, but still fighting. Nero still remained in his transformed state, though he too looked nearly beaten; the toll on his body from his initial transformation combined with his injuries gifted by Vergil previously, enough to sap his energy.

With both of her allies within her vision, Nico felt dread pool in her stomach as she realised just who had landed beside them. Rising to his feet unsteadily, Vergil stood not two feet away from the two defenceless humans. Blood dripped from various wounds upon his body, and he too had partially lost his transformation; the hideous eye covered form having melted back into Vergil's standard Trigger.

Nico's gasped breath was loud enough to alert Vergil to his proximity to the pair, and before she could even think of trying to protect V, she was lifted by her throat and held dangling above the ground. V's wheezing breaths seemed to amused Vergil for some reason, a fleeting look of what could almost be considered pride crossing his face. Nico gasped for breath as Vergil bent down once more to grab a hold of V also, lifting his limp body with his clawed hands, and turning to face the incensed pair across from him.

“Let's raise the stakes a little shall we?” Vergil mocked.


	9. Chapter 9

Nero approached the place where he could feel V's waning life force, his eyes desperately searching for his lost mate amongst the horrible landscape. When finally his golden eyes landed upon the other man, he almost wished that they had not, as a mournful howl broke from his lips. V was lying face down upon the ground, blood soaking rapidly through the back of his clothing, and pooling beneath him in and ever expanding puddle.

A clash of swords caught his attention then, and he scanned the area in search of the sound. Off to the side, he could see Dante fighting another man; someone Nero knew he had never seen before, but still somehow knew who he was. Vergil – his gods-be-damed father. And a quick look around to confirm the complete lack of the supposed 'other half' of Vergil – the demonic half – Nero drew the conclusion that he must have already merged back together. And by the looks of things, Dante and Nero had been correct in their assumption that Vergil was less intent on stopping the demon to help, and more because he wanted the glory of overcoming humanity himself.

Indecision tore at Nero's heart, his very soul aching to rush to V's side to hold his mate, to cradle him and to try to heal his wounds; but on the other hand, Dante looked like he needed help to deal with Vergil also. In his heart, Nero knew what V would tell him to do, but still he hesitated, eyes drifting back towards his dying mate.

It was the sudden silence that filled the air that shook Nero with unease, his eyes flickering back towards the two men fighting, only to see Dante on his knees, Vergil preparing to strike the killing blow. With another cry of despair, Nero swooped closer to the ground, releasing his hold on Nico when he knew she could safely land and tend to V – pleading with her to save him – before rising once more and winging his way to get between Dante and the incoming strike.

He landed just in time to catch Vergil's thrust, his winged hands grasping a hold of the steel easily. Dante's eyes flew open from where they had been tightly closed, his wondering gaze drifting over his nephew. Vergil stared at him in wonderment also, though his expression soon turned to a furious hunger, mocking joy tainting his eyes further.

“Well, well. It looks like a new challenger has arrived. What fun it shall be, to defeat you both!”

Fury overtook Nero at those words, though he tried to temper the feeling. Dante struggled back to his feet, and Nero could feel the rush of energy as he let his transformation overtake him. Both were expecting Vergil's transformation, though Nero could tell from the stiffening of Dante's body, that he had not expected the form he finally took. That would be bad, Nero had been hoping that Dante might have been able to point out weaknesses or vulnerable spots upon the other, but if this was a new form, then neither man would have that knowledge and meanwhile Vergil would know every one of Dante's weak points to exploit.

Still, there could be no backing out now, and together, they rushed forwards with their weapons drawn.

Sword slashing towards Vergil's side as Dante engaged the Yamato in a hard lock, Nero was sure that he would be able to land a hit on his unprotected side. There was no way that Vergil would be able to disengage Yamato, and swing her around in time to block his strike, but still somehow his hit missed.

His eyes widening in shock, Nero watched as the strange eyes covering his form blinked at him, a sword made of the same spectral form as his own wings forming and blocking his strike. Unprepared for the block, Nero found himself thrown backwards, skidding along the ground on his back painfully. The spectral sword followed him however, and only his wings curling over him protectively, prevented himself from being sliced apart.

Dante turned at Nero's shout, head turning briefly to watch as he went flying through the air, his own distraction costing him. Vergil smirked at him as Dante retreated slightly, eyeing the new slice upon his side, oozing blood slowly from the cut – a lot shallower than it could have been if Vergil hadn't been mocking him.

“Careful Nero,” Dante panted out, preparing for another attack. “He's stronger than ever after reuniting both parts of his body and soul. Plus apparently his demon half got a hold of that damn fruit earlier than we had hoped too.”

Nero grunted in affirmative, wings pushing against his opponent, even as he struggled to stand once more. The two hunters were clearly at a disadvantage, as both had recently suffered through great trauma to their bodies, while Vergil had been carried unharmed within V's body. They would need to fight smarter if they wanted to win, not harder, like they both preferred.

A quick look thrown towards Dante, let Nero knew that he had been thinking the same thing, and with an almost imperceptible nod, they struck.

Dante aimed high, his own clawed wings flaring out to obscure as many of Vergil's eyes as possible; Nero ducking lower to slash through whatever eyes he could reach. His wings deflected any extra blades aimed towards him, as he hacked at Vergil's defences.

Vergil's hulking body leaped backwards, hands touching the bleeding eyes upon his body, fury crossing his face when he realised their plan. With more than half of his extra senses rendered null, Vergil threw a flurry of blades towards the two men. With muted swears, they dodged out of the way of most, a few nicking their flesh here and there, but nothing serious.

Vergil stormed back into the fight upon the heels of the blades, Yamato gone now, a huge greatsword gripped in his hands. With powerful swings that would be enough to cut a man in twain, he spun around in a circle, creating a whirlwind of destruction. Both Nero and Dante took to the air to avoid the carnage, Nero trying to keep a careful eye upon the position of both Nico and V also.

With Vergil distracted, the two hovering men flew down to attack his head and shoulders, the unexpected move seeming to send Vergil into a daze. His sword swung around haphazardly, managing to knock Dante out of the air, appearing to knock him out cold, and causing him to lose his transformation. With a cry of desperation, Nero smashed into Vergil with his sword, entire body weight thrown into the swing; and watched in satisfaction as the other went flying, greatsword falling from his hands and disappearing.

He landed a distance away from their current position, and seemed to grow smaller by the second, until he was left looking similarly to Dante's Devil Trigger – if not a whole lot more blue.

It was only as he heard Nico's gasp of fear, that Nero realised he had inadvertently thrown Vergil towards the defenceless pair, fear propelling him forwards in desperation to keep them safe. Anger filled him as he saw Vergil pluck Nico from the position she had thrown herself into, trying to protect V, absolute fury blinding him when he reached down once more to dangle his mate also.

“Let's raise the stakes then shall we?” Vergil taunted Nero, right before he hurled Nico's struggling form towards him.

Unwilling to let his friend be injured, Nero raced forwards to catch her, grunting slightly at the impact the unnecessarily powerful throw caused. Placing her down on the ground gently, Nero watched her worriedly as her knees shook from shock, carefully guiding her behind him; wings pushing her towards Dante's still form.

“Keep back,” Nico startled at the deep growl that Nero's voice had become. “Stay safe, and keep Dante out of this if you can ok?”

Nico nodded, even though Nero would be unable to see the movement; but as though he had anticipated the motion, Nero strode forwards determinedly, drawing Blue Rose. Raising the gun up and aiming it towards Vergil, Nero pulled the trigger all in a quick and precise motion, not giving his father time to avoid the hit.

Vergil's glowing blue eyes turned towards him, a glare painted across his features after catching sight of the bloodied hole decorating his chest, bullet already being pushed back through the blue tinted skin, the wound healing rapidly.

“Now, now then. That was foolish. Though I wouldn't attempt that again, who knows what you might hit next time?”

By the way Vergil lifted V just slightly higher, shaking his limp form, the threat was more than clear. Shoot again, and Vergil would not hesitate to use V as a shield for himself. Nero hesitated, unsure if he could fire off another shot before Vergil had time to react, and knowing he couldn't tolerate risking hitting V if he couldn't. In the end, he tucked his gun away, drawing Red Queen to his hand instead.

If he had thought that Vergil would now face him man to man, casting V to the side, hopefully to be protected by a slowly rousing Dante and terrified Nico, he was sadly mistaken. Dozens of spectral swords appeared beside his motionless form, before they few towards Nero with a wave of Vergil's hand, blades whistling in the wind as they cut through the space between them.

Nero deflected what he could with his own blade and wings, and rolled away from what he missed; hissing as he received a few nicks over his body. He roared in frustration, as the swords just kept coming at him, giving him not a moment of respite nor a chance to counter them.

Meanwhile Vergil's attention was split, only slight attention paid to the fight with Nero, as he was examining the Omega dangling in his grip. He had thought for sure that he would have died after they had separated, but it would seem that he had underestimated the other man. Well, he had managed to survive carrying him around all this time after all, managing to survive that ordeal mostly intact. Perhaps it had been a mistake to mate him to an Alpha as powerful as Nero was turning out to be, but hindsight was always twenty-twenty as they say. Though as a potential bonus, if Vergil were to eliminate both Dante and Nero now, he could potentially have an Omega to breed and carry his offspring. He wouldn't mate him of course, the very thought of tying himself to such a weak species filling him with disgust, but he would admit that he felt a slight urge to continue his bloodline.

He supposed that he could consider Nero to be his own, though the disdain he felt towards the other man was not ideal; Dante seeming to have become much too great an influence upon the boy. No, he would do much better to get rid of him, and start afresh – raise his children in his own image, teach them his own ways, and together they could rule the Underworld and the human one too.

Dante had finally climbed back to his feet, swaying wildly as he rose to his full height, Rebellion clutched in his white knuckled grip, helping to support him. This fight needed to end, and soon. He could see how V's body twitched within Vergil's hold, could see how almost unconsciously Vergil's grip tightened in response, irregardless of the fact that the movements were involuntary. He could see the wheels turning in Vergil's mad eyes, saw as he raised his free hand to brush consideringly over V's face, with a look of contemplation.

No. No, Dante would not allow V to be used by Vergil again, and never like _that_.

He knew that what he was planning to do was risky; knew that there was a very real possibility that he might end up injuring V far worse than he already was; but he also knew that he had very little choice at this time. With one last fleeting prayer, Dante threw himself towards Vergil with a war cry loud enough to shake the dome they were in.

Whirling around in shock, Vergil dropped V's limp body to the ground, managing to summon Yamato just before Rebellion cleaved his head from his shoulders. Cursing his brother in his mind, Vergil tried to step away from the onslaught, but ended up nearly tripping over V instead. Growling lowly in his throat, Vergil sidestepped away from the body, nudging it none to gently with his foot in the process, and drawing the fight towards more open space.

Nero was shocked when the swords he was battling disappeared, nearly stumbling as the lock he was engaged in vanished, weight no longer braced against his foe. Turning his head frantically around, Nero realised that Vergil could no longer hold the spell whilst fighting an infuriated Dante. His eyes widened even further as he noted that V was no longer held within his grasp, but was instead lying unprotected upon the ground, much too closer for comfort, to their shifting feet.

With his heart thudding painfully in his chest, Nero raced forwards to pull V back towards where Nico stood, hands running cautiously over his form to try to reassure himself that V would survive this ordeal. He took note of the new marks that V now had surrounding his neck, a deep, angry growl reverberating lowly, eyes narrowing into slits as he turned towards the continuing fight.

He sat upon the ground beside his mate, torn between keeping V safe and hurrying towards the fight once more, to take revenge against Vergil. His Alpha screamed in his mind, tearing at his mental walls, desperate to take their mate and flee. Nero could feel his hands twitch, reaching out towards V to do just that, when Dante's cry of pain reached his ears.

Nero's head shot up at the sound, eyes widening in disbelief as once more Vergil impaled the older man, Dante's hands wrapped around Rebellion as she plunged through his stomach, Vergil using his boot to push the steel through deeper.

“Go to him...” Nero jerked as V's trembling and weak voice whispered across his skin. He hadn't even realised that his mate had awoken. Hadn't known if his mate would even be able to tell it was him, with his features so changed from his transformation. But there had been not a single trace of doubt in V's eyes, that the demon before him was his Nero – his mate.

“But....!”

“Dante needs you Nero. Nico will keep us both safe.” V's smile was small and wan, his eyes begging Nero to just listen and _go._ “Now _GO!_ ”

With one last fleeting glance down at the dark haired pair, Nero rushed towards the silver haired brothers. He arrived just in time to watch Vergil wrench Dante's sword from his body, the younger brother falling on his side, hands clenched over the wound.

That was it, no more, Nero thought to himself. He had had enough of Vergil hurting those that he cared for, killing like it meant nothing to him!

The area suddenly filled with Nero's scent; cinnamon and sugar, a scent that symbolised the warmth and comfort he provided; and a woodsy scent that showed his strength. If V were in his right mind at that moment, he might have laughingly wondered why there wasn't anything in Nero's scent that portrayed his complete and utter hot headedness and adorable idiocy; but at that moment, he merely basked in the unfamiliar scent, drawing strength from it.

Nero swung out at Vergil, kicking him in the gut when their swords locked, and sending him stumbling backwards. Vergil scowled as he looked down at the dusty footprint Nero had left upon his clothing, bringing Yamato back up horizontally to attack once more.

“You will pay for that insolent whelp.” He growled, leaping forwards once more.

“That? That is what you are angry about? A dusty footprint, you stuck up dandy?!” Nero cried out incredulously, alternating between heavy swings of his sword and and firing off bullets to keep Vergil at optimal distance from himself. Red Queen had a much longer blade, and thus a larger strike zone than Yamato did. If Nero could just keep Vergil far enough away....

The pair danced around the limited space, trading hits and strikes at an alarming rate. Nero's transformation started to fade finally; horns and wings disappearing back into his own body, and with it the boost to his strength and stamina. Nero started taking hits more often, blood welling up from the slices Vergil carved into his skin, eyes turning black and swollen from the punch Vergil had delivered – the act surprising Nero at first, having assumed that Vergil wouldn't like getting his hands dirty in a fight, but realising that he had made this battle personal.

Nero was struggling, and Dante was unable to aid him, body healing slower than usual after being stabbed multiple times in the last few hours. That didn't stop him from trying to struggle to his feet, freezing into shocked stillness as a hand rested gently upon his trembling shoulders, the owner slowly walking past him with an unsteady stride.

Dante could see the figure approach the two fighters, neither man aware of his approach. He could see how each slow step brought him closer to the fight, bringing him closer to the danger zone. He lurched to his feet weakly, body screaming in protest and tilting uncontrollably to one side – blood rushing once more from the agitated wound – but he pushed himself to stumble after the one they needed to protect.

Nero howled as Vergil thrust Yamato through his shoulder, his right arm falling uselessly to his side, Blue Rose falling to the ground. Vergil grinned heartlessly down at the boy whom he had spawned, slowly pulling his blade out of his shoulder – savouring the slow glide of steel, tugging at his pierced flesh; revelling in the hissed intake of pain at the action – in preparation to remove this stain upon his bloodline. Dante was down for the count of all intents and purposes, and all that stood in his way now was this insolent _child_ , who thought that he was enough to go head to head against an opponent so far beyond his abilities like Vergil was.

Nero wasn't sure who was more shocked, himself or Vergil, when the Yamato disappeared from Vergil's hand. They both stared dumbfounded down at Vergil's empty fist, wondering just what the hell was happening.

Vergil's eyes widened in disbelief, red blossoming like a blooming flower from Vergil's chest; the tip of the Yamato piercing through slowly. As the blade keep coming, Nero could see V standing tall behind Vergil, face set in harsh lines, and he put his entire weight into the thrust.

“What?” Blood dribbled from Vergil's mouth as he stared down at his own blade impaling his body, uncomprehendingly.

“You are no longer worthy to wield her,” V hissed softly beside his ear, causing Vergil to jerk, blade sliding deeper within his body. “She will no longer answer to your call, and has instead chosen a different master.”

“No....” Vergil denied, holding his hand out to call her back to his his side, but she did not answer to his call. “No!”

With one last push, Yamato's hilt slammed into Vergil's spine, freezing him in place, just long enough for Nero to scramble to his feet, clutching his fiery sword.

“I'm sorry things had to be this way, but you have left us little choice.” Nero's eyes raked over V's swaying form, smiling encouragingly at his mate. “This is our revenge for all that you have done to the world – and for all that you have done to us!”

Vergil let out a blood curdling scream, which was abruptly cut off, as without another moment of hesitation, Nero lashed out his arm; flame coated steel cutting through Vergil's neck with a single swing.


	10. Chapter 10

V wasn't sure where he managed to find the strength to stand from; all he knew was that his mate needed him, and that he wanted to help to protect him.

With a muffled grunt, V pushed himself to his knees, gasping as his barely healed wounds pulled and stretched, blood starting to ooze sluggishly at the edges. With a small, wan smile towards the fretting Nico, V staggered to his feet, swaying wildly. He was almost positive that he would have ended up crashing back down to the ground if Nico had not shot up to grip his arm tightly, helping to steady him.

“V?” Her voice carried all of the questions that she could not bring herself to ask – could not bear to hear the answers to.

“I have to go to him.” V's eyes held her wavering gaze, and he could see clearly that she wanted to stop him from leaving their little safe space.

The sounds of the fighting increased, and it didn't take a sword master or fighting prodigy to see that the two younger men were losing. Dante had been taken out of the fight, blood trickling from between his clenched fingers, his body lying shaken, and prone upon the ground. Nero was battling as hard as he could, but with the loss of his transformation, he was fading fast.

“Ok,” Nico's voice was steady, even as her hands shook. “Please V, don't do anything reckless.”

V smiled back at her, already taking one unsteady step towards his mate. “When have you ever known me to be reckless Nico?”

Nico wrapped her hands around herself, fingers gripping tightly at her dirtied sides. “All the time V, all the damn time. You are too selfless for your own good.” Her voice was softer than a whisper as she watched V walk away from her.

V pushed his aching body forwards, the call of battle urging him onwards, each painful step at a time. He passed Dante – struggling to rise, struggling to battle against his body's own limits – laying a gentle hand upon his shoulder to stop him. He had no words to speak for the older man, all of his energy focused on Nero and Vergil, but he could feel how Dante stopped struggling. V hoped that Nico would come forwards to help Dante, hoped that he could spare the older man any more pain.

The fight before him was becoming more vicious, Vergil hitting Nero harder and more often, victory just a hairsbreadth away. The sound Nero made as Yamato pierced through his arm sent V's heart racing painfully in his chest, the dull thud of Nero's gun falling echoing in his mind.

Vergil tugged Yamato from Nero's arm slowly, the eldest Sparda twin seeming to relish in the soft, squelching sounds the blade made as it pulled free of it's flesh casing. He stood there above V's mate, and though he could not see the look he had upon his face, after sharing his body with the other man for so many months, V could well imagine his expression.

V had not had a plan to rescue Nero; he hadn't a weapon to attack with, nor defend himself – his own sword having been left behind by Vergil; not that he had had the energy to wield the blade himself recently, nor had he been allowed either. But that hadn't mattered to him, the feeling that had welled up within his chest and urged him forwards overtaking every other thought in his mind. He would tear Vergil's throat out with his teeth if he had to.

But those things ceased to matter when he heard a sweet singing in his mind, calling him, and telling him to reach out.

' _What?'_ V wondered, the song growing louder deep within his mind. _'What do you want me to do?'_

The singing grew louder, more urgent, and V could feel his hand start to prickle uncomfortably. It was only as his eyes rose, catching sight of the crimson dripping from Nero's body, that his fist clenched in anger – in fear and desperation.

_'Please!'_ He begged the singer, _'please help me!'_

Between one blink and the next, V stared down at the beautiful blade that now rested happily in his fist; the singing had quietened into something more akin to a content hum, the grip vibrating happily in his hand.

There was no time to waste upon disbelief though, V could see that the shock that held Vergil motionless was wearing off, and the opportunity to take him off guard would be lost. In a fair fight, V knew that even now, after fighting both Dante and Nero, Vergil would far outstrip him in strength and skill, and he could not afford to face him properly. He could feel a sight sense of guilt well up within his chest at such an immoral action, though this was tempered by the knowledge that Vergil himself was about as unscrupulous as they came.

Gritting his teeth firmly, V raised Yamato to chest height, before throwing his weight behind his strike, and pushing her into Vergil's back. Bile rose in his throat as he felt Vergil's flesh part around the blade, felt the way his body resisted as he pushed; but still he persisted. He could not stop here – this needed to end now.

Yamato sung again to V, crooning to him softly, and soothing him with her song. _'This is her will.'_ V thought to himself, _'she has chosen me to wield her now. I have been deemed worthy of her.'_ Yamato trilled her agreement softly, wrapping V in her power.

The very idea that one not of Sparda blood might have gained control over the mysterious blade was all but unthinkable; but then again, no other Sparda had ever split their body and soul and resided in another for so long either. The prolonged time that Vergil had spent hiding in V's body – along with the mateship he shared with Nero, Vergil's own blood kin – had allowed Yamato to begin to recognise the man as one of their own.

As time had passed, she had felt the shift in Vergil; had felt his dark thoughts and feelings taking over, even as the sweet man who carried him stayed strong and true to all the things that mattered to her. Blood, death, revenge. All of those things were familiar to her, and none of those things bothered her – she was a blade, forged to take life – but the utmost disregard for everything bothered her. She had become no more than a tool for her master, no longer that cherished and favoured ally in battle. She watched jealously as their host cleaned his blade after each fight, laying the imperfect steel gently down each night, and she _wanted._

And over time she had realised that she no longer could answer to such a lacking master, and she had changed her allegiance. She had just had to wait for the right time to reveal herself to her new master – and now was that time.

“What?” V could feel Vergil's body jerk as blood flew from his mouth in a spray, crimson blossoming over his chest as he continued pressing against the hilt.

“You are no longer worthy to wield her,” V hissed spitefully, the time spent sharing his mind space letting V know just how devastated Vergil would be at the words. “She will no longer answer to your call, and has instead chosen a different master.”

V didn't need to share mind space with Vergil to know what the other man was thinking, he was so close to the other man that he could almost hear how his heart started to race – even the pain of being impaled fading compared to the thought of losing his birthright. Vergil's hand rose hurriedly, his limb jerking in stress, as he clenched his fist desperately over and over again, calling to Yamato to come to him. V could feel the disdain the blade radiated at the order, feeling her purr as he stroked his fingers reverently over her hilt in thanks.

“No....NO!”

V liked to believe that he wasn't a petty man, but he would admit to feeling satisfaction fill him at the heartbroken wail that Vergil let loose as his hand remained empty. His eyes caught sight of his mate, still positioned before Vergil; his tired and bloody countenance filling V with resolve.

The time for revenge was over. This was more than just getting back at the man who had ruined two men's lives, more than getting even for all of the pain and heartache that he had caused to the group; even if those consequences would persist for the rest of their lives. This was about the entire world that Vergil had destroyed in his quest for power. This was about the thousands who had died for his insane plan, for the millions who had lost loved ones, their homes, their everything.

V's clear green eyes hardened with determination, pulling in a deep breath, and throwing his entire weight into his thrust. Yamato slid the rest of the way through Vergil's body, the hilt slamming into his spine, seeming to paralyse him – whether in shock, or V having nicked his spine, he would never know.

Not a moment later, a flash of steel carved through the air, a spray of blood obscuring V's vision as he hastily stepped out of range. When he could finally see once more, Vergil's headless body was just beginning to crumble to the ground, Nero standing before him, covered in blood, Red Queen clutched in his left hand tightly.

Vergil's body shimmered as his transformation fell away, his human body crumpling to the ground with a muted thud. Tainted vines rose up from the ground to surround him, covering his body, and pulling him back into the tree itself.

  
A deep, unsettling rumbling started to resound in the domed area, the entire structure beginning to shake as the Qliphoth crumbled beneath their feet. Nero looked up at V tiredly, cursing as he noted the fresh blood that oozed from V's chest, Yamato gripped loosely in his trembling fist.

“Nero...” V's voice was shaky and small, his eyes glazed and unseeing. “I....killed him? It's over?”

“Yeah V, it's over.” Nero murmured, shuffling closer to his mate.

“That's....that's good then.” V turned his green eyes towards Nero, tears already starting to fall. “I'm sorry Nero.”

Before Nero could even try to work out why the other man was apologising, V's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he started to fall. Yamato disappeared from V's hand as he fell, though that was the least of Nero's concerns, as he leapt forwards to catch him. Cradling his weakened form in his own trembling arms, Nero started harshly when another hand laid itself upon his shoulder. A low, protective growl tore itself from his throat, before he realised that it was just Dante and Nico standing behind him.

“Come on kid,” Dante urged. “Let's get out of here and leave this nightmare behind yeah?”

“Yeah. Yeah, let's do that.” Nero agreed, starting the slow walk back to safety.

Nico helped gather their weapons, both men banishing them until they needed them again, taking her healing supplies and hurrying ahead of them to bring the van. She didn't want to leave any of them behind, but Dante had told her that getting the van would be a bigger help, meaning they would have to walk less. Reluctantly, she had agreed, and with a final glance behind her, she bolted down the uneven path.

The two men turned away from Vergil's final resting place, the mound of vines marking his grave, even as the area broke apart. Just before they exited the dome, Dante paused briefly, a look of terrible pain and heartbreak falling upon his face.

“Goodbye Brother. I hope you find your peace in the afterlife.”

Nero didn't say anything in farewell, nor to Dante regarding his final goodbye, but that was ok. Dante understood that Nero felt nothing but negative feelings towards the man who had sired him, the hope the young man had carried for years regarding the type of man his father was, had been crushed and broken beyond repair in the face of reality. And Nero understood that Dante had a long history with Vergil; understood that he had loved his brother when they were younger, and had carried his guilt over his actions towards him for years. Now this, this was an ending for their eternal struggles, and hopefully he could be happy wherever he ended up.

The trip down the tree was difficult. Nero struggled to carry V with him, his own body weakened from both his injuries and the desperate fights from earlier. He stumbled often, arms tightening protectively around his vulnerable mate, desperate not to drop the other man. Dante tried to offer his support to Nero, but he too was struggling, his body still trying to heal itself. Their journey was made all the harder, by the Qliphoth disintegrating beneath their feet; tendrils dropping off and compromising the balance of the whole structure, the thicker roots, crumbling to ash with each of their hurried steps.

They made it about a quarter of the way down before things got a little more urgent; the entire tree starting to crumble from the top down, their path towards the bottom threatening to disappear before their eyes. With muted curses, Dante and Nero pushed their bodies to the limit, making it to the halfway point, before the welcome sound of Nico's van filled their ears.

With the loud roar of the over-revved van, Nico skidded to a halt before them; the woman herself hanging out of her window and yelling at them to hurry. Dante threw open the back door for Nero and V, slamming it closed behind them and throwing himself into the passenger seat. Normally he would not bother with something so mundane such as a seatbelt, but this time he wasted no time in strapping himself in. He just prayed that Nero was able to keep a good enough hold on V, and something to anchor himself to. Without a moment to spare, Nico threw the van into gear, pressing her foot flat to the floor and shooting off just ahead of the crumbling pathway.

“Come on baby, you can go faster than this.” Nico coaxed the van, stroking a fond hand over the dash. “Just a little bit more, come on. Come on!”

The van slowly started to inch closer to safety, bouncing over the rough ground and jarring all of it's occupants. The collective sigh of relief that they heaved as the wheels finally touched the tarmac of the road, rushed out of each of them unconsciously, their bodies slumping tiredly now that the immediate danger had passed. Behind them, the tree finally faded into a cloud of ash, finally dispersing into the air, and taking Vergil's remains along with it. In the end, there was nothing left, but a giant hole in the ground, that led to seemingly nowhere and not a single demon remained – pulled back into the Underworld when the portal between realms had closed.

Nico eased her foot off of the accelerator, slowing the car to a more reasonable pace, and turned towards the ruined town. Hopefully they could find a hospital or even a hotel, where they could get some supplies, and rest and heal before they finally made their way home. They would have to talk to V once he regained consciousness though, and work out if the other man wanted to come home with them, or if he wanted to be returned to his own home. It wouldn't be ideal if he decided he wanted to live apart from Nero, but if that was what he wanted, then they would make it work. It was the least they could do, after the ordeal V had been through recently.

But those decisions could wait.

They had time now; the fight was over and there was no hurry anymore.


	11. Chapter 11

In the end they hadn't been able to delay long enough to ask V what he wanted to do. The Omega had fallen into an unrelenting sleep, and the longer they delayed, the more agitated Nero seemed to become. There was something within him, some instinct, that told him that he needed to get his mate home; get him somewhere safe away from the scores of people still frantically trying to put their lives back together.

Nico and Dante had hesitated, but eventually had given in when Nero insisted that V could still decide to go home when he woke up. Neither mentioned the fact that Nero's grip tightened almost unconsciously around V as he said this. The trip home had been mostly quiet and easy, though there was a few issues on finding accommodations, and food seemed to be in short supply also. Other than that, they encountered no other issues, and before too long, Nico pulled up before the doors to Devil May Cry.

Dante rolled out of the van with a giant stretch, glad to finally be able to move about once more. They had pushed themselves longer than was probably necessary, but they had all wanted the comforting safety of home. Nero emerged from the back of the van slowly, carefully turning so as not to knock V against the doorway, and pausing to take in the sight before him with a small smile.

The front door flew open before they managed to take more than a couple of steps forwards, Kyrie bursting out through the door to meet them. Dante and Nico stepped forwards to intercept her, as Nero drew back slightly, a soft snarl rising in his throat. Pulling up abruptly in shock, Kyrie finally noticed the man that Nero was holding so tenderly in his arms, and recognition lit up her face.

“You found your mate!” Kyrie whisper screamed at Nero, bouncing happily in place. “Bring him in quickly, I want to meet him!”

“You'll have to wait until he wakes up Ky, he's been out for the last couple of weeks.” Nero responded quietly.

It was only then that Kyrie noticed the unconscious man's poorly state, body too lean to be healthy, skin so pale it was almost translucent. Luckily for V, the others had found him a large shirt to cover up his chest, so at least he was spared Kyrie's horror over his scars. Moving her gaze over the rest of the group, it was then that Kyrie realised just how worn out the entire group was; and here she was getting all giddy on the doorstep and holding them up from getting rest.

Abashed, Kyrie led the group inside, letting them know that she had been keeping it fresh and tidy for whenever they returned. Dante thanked her tiredly, patting her on the head absent-mindedly as he made his way upstairs to shower and finally be able to fall into his own bed once more. Nero followed suit, carefully laying V down on his own bed, gently tugging off his shoes and tucking him under the covers. Stripping himself off also, Nero climbed into the bed beside V, curling protectively around him, and quickly falling into a deep slumber.

The next week passed in the same way, Dante slowly coming to terms with Vergil's death – again – Kyrie and Nico catching up, the latter of who was still mentally recovering from their adventure; and Nero tending to V. With great reluctance, he allowed Kyrie to help him bathe the other man each day, gently wiping over his too pale skin with a soft cloth, and then dressing him in some of Nero's clothing. Kyrie had been shocked at the sight of V's scars, but one look at the tortured look upon Nero's face, had her biting back her questions. Getting food in to the other man was difficult; Nero having to support V carefully as he tipped small spoonfuls of broth into his mouth, breathing a sigh of relief as V swallowed easily. Each night he would then curl protectively around his mate, inhaling his scent, and assuring himself that V would recover.

One week later, Nero woke abruptly, gasping for breath and covered in sweat. The air was heavy with the thick scent of coffee and chocolate, and Nero could hear V's breath rasping dangerously in his throat. V's body burned like fire within Nero's hold; skin slick with sweat, and temperature rising higher and higher, seemingly by the second. It wasn't until V let out a little whimpering moan, his wide green eyes staring with a glazed sheen into his own confused blue, that Nero realised what was happening.

V was awake, and he was in heat.

A soft knock on the door drew Nero's attention away from V, a low, territorial growl escaping him before he could prevent it. Kyrie poked her head into the room, face twisting slightly as V's scent hit her nose.

“Nero?” Her soft voice was usually enough to soothe Nero's temper, but right now, it simply inflamed it further.

' _I must protect my mate'_ Nero's hind-brain screamed insistently. His growl intensified.

“Hey stop that silly, I'm not going to steal your mate.” Kyrie admonished him lightly, rolling her eyes fondly. “I just want to know if you wanted me to bring you anything?”

That stopped Nero's growls, his brain finally stopping it's instinctive show of dominance, and starting to think properly.

“Yeah, yeah sorry Ky. Umm, could you bring some food and water up please? And some more cloths; V's burning up and we need to get his temperature down before it gets any more dangerous.”

Kyrie nodded her understanding, the door closing behind her with a quiet _click._ Nero leapt into action then, stripping off V's sweat soaked clothes, and pulling back the bed covers, running a spare shirt over his body to soak up his sweat. V moaned helplessly, turning restlessly upon the bed, seeking out Nero's comforting presence. Quickly returning to the bed, Nero gathered V's trembling body up into his arms, stroking his sweaty hair back gently. A small, sad smile pulled at his mouth as V turned his face into his neck, snuffling at his scent glands desperately.

“Gods V,” murmured Nero, laying a kiss upon his head gently. “It's just one thing after the next isn't it? I wish you could manage to catch a break.”

Nico knocked on the door not long after Nero had managed to wrest V into an uneasy sleep, and with great reluctance, Nero left her to guard over his mate while he took care of his own needs. Nero would not have left V with anyone else, not even Kyrie, but Nico had watched over V for him before; and had proven capable and trustworthy.

To Nero's surprise and chagrin, Dante waited outside of his bedroom door, leaning almost casually against the opposite wall. Swallowing back the aggression that he could feel rising in his chest, Nero jerked his head to the side, motioning Dante to follow him to the kitchen. Ignoring the older man for the moment, Nero scoured the cupboards hastily, throwing together a hotch potch meal for himself, and shovelling it into his mouth as quickly as possible. When he had finally finished, he looked up at his uncle, finally ready to listen to what he had to say.

“How's V?” Dante started with, drawing a _so-so_ motion from Nero. “Yeah, yeah I guessed that would be the case.”

“What's going on Dante? I thought you said Omegas didn't get all hot and needy and whatever the hell else is going on with V right now.” Nero's voice came out accusing, and Dante flinched.

“Kid, you gotta realise that this isn't the norm right? We have no idea what having his heat suppressed did to V's body, because right now, it looks like he's not playing by the rules anymore.”

“So what do I do?” Nero asked worriedly.

“Help him however you can. Keep him cool, make sure he has fluids and if you can get food into him, even better.” Dante hesitated, not sure if he wanted to voice his last thought aloud. “And....”

“And?” Nero parroted warily.

“And if worst comes to worst, the quickest way to end a heat is to mate with him again.”

“Mate with....? You want me to take advantage of V again when he's vulnerable?!” Nero yelled, leaping from his chair and sending it flying backwards. “No. NO! I won't do that to him again, I won't!”

“Nero, Nero! Calm down!” Dante tried to calm the younger man. “I'm not suggesting that you just jump him; V should hopefully be cognizant enough to make a decision, but you have to understand that it might end up being the only thing that can end this. We don't know what is going to happen, and I don't want anything else to happen to either of you ok?”

Nero calmed slightly at Dante's words, but denial raced heavily through his veins. He wouldn't do that to V again, not without his permission, not without his consent given freely, and without pressure. Normally an Omega's heat would pass without the need to mate – not that mated pairs didn't enjoy the heightened arousal they shared during this period – but with V's body out of sorts like this, who knew what might happen. Nero reluctantly supposed it was a good idea to have plans in place, in case of an emergency.

The urge to be beside his mate soon started to overpower Nero, and he found himself almost racing back to his room. Slamming open the door, his heart broke at the pained whimpers falling from V's mouth, as he lay curled in Nico's hold. He rushed over to take him back from Nico, thanking her softly for looking after him as she slipped from the room with a wan smile.

“Nero?” V's voice was raspy, and Nero hurriedly offered him a few small sips of water. “Thanks.”

Nero hummed a low, soothing tune, hoping to lull V back to sleep again. He could feel the heat radiating from V's body, and decided to run a cool bath for him. Picking him up, and ignoring his grunt of displeasure at both the handling and being moved, Nero hurried to the bathroom, stripping the clothes from V's body, and placing him down in the empty tub. Turning on the taps, Nero allowed the water to run freely, until the chill had faded into a lukewarm temperature. Plugging the tub, Nero splashed the water over V's overheated body, pleased at the hum of contentment that escaped V.

Their silent awkwardness was broken, when V's voice rang out shakily.

“What's going to happen Nero? What are we going to do?”

“I don't know what's going to happen V, but I will do my best to care for you.” was Nero's steadfast reply. His words seemed to put V more at ease, a tension neither had realised he carried, falling away.

When Nero asked why he thought that V's heat was affecting him so much, V had hummed thoughtfully, before speculating that it was because the build up of all of his hormones from his suppressed heat had turned what was normally not a whole lot more than an annoyance, into something a lot worse. When normally V would feel mild arousal at his mate's presence, now had turned into a desperate need to keep the other man close; wanting his touch to soothe him.

V grumbled quietly within his own mind about male Omegas even having to go through heats at all, remembering an idiotic conversation that he had once had with one of his Alpha friends.

“ _Stupid heats. Why do I even need to go through them every few months?” V grumbled, flicking an annoyed glance towards his giggling friend._

“ _I dunno V, but man it's so amusing to imagine you panting and whining to be filled up; your calm and unflappable demeanour falling away, and leaving you begging for an Alpha to breed you and fill you with pups I mean that's how all the best fan fics are written you know.”_

_V stared at his friend with a blank expression on his face, distaste dripping from his voice. “I have never once acted like that in my life, nor do I plan to. Please keep me out of your friend fic imaginings, for my sanity's sake. Plus, in case you had forgotten, I am a_ male _you idiot. Out of the both of us, you are the only one able to fall pregnant regardless of your Alpha-ness.”_

“ _Well yes,” she had replied with a pout. “But it is still a funny thing to think of regardless. Don't take all of my fun away V.”_

Oh, they hadn't talked about having sex yet he realised; and V knew that they should probably bring it up while he was still managing his pain effectively...sort of.

“And what...what about...?” V was hesitant and nervous to ask the question.

“Sex?” Nero asked bluntly, watching as V ever so slightly tensed. “I...I don't want to have sex with you, if we can help it.”

“You don't?” V asked, upset. Did his mate not find him appealing? Had it really only been Nero's rut, and Vergil's plotting that had bound them together after all? V had thought that they had grown closer than that, had thought that Nero had grown attracted to him over the months they had spent together fighting – but perhaps it had just been wishful thinking on his part.

“No. I mean yes! I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry that came out all wrong.” Nero's flustered words, soothed some of V's hurt, but he had to know exactly what Nero meant. “I mean I do want to have sex with you, but I would rather it be of our own choosing, and not because of our heat or rut again. You know what I mean? I want it to mean something more than just our natures.”

“I...I see.” V responded quietly, relieved. “I understand, but if it comes down to it, you have my consent to do as you must to help.”

Nero nodded in understanding, but was still reluctant to accept the possibility.

V's heat ended up running for over ten days, some days better than others; and some where he was lost to delirium, fever spiking dangerously and unable to keep down food or water. For two days in a row, V was like this, and Nero found himself having to make the difficult call on whether to take measures to end V's heat or hope it ran itself out.

It was only as V begged for the pain to stop, sunken eyes hazed in pain, fingers clawing at his own skin, that Nero decided he had to do it. He couldn't let V continue to suffer this way, not when he could help him end this right now.

Grabbing the bottle of lube that Dante had oh so helpfully left for them, Nero coated his fingers after turning V on his side. Lifting his leg and hooking it around his own hip gently, Nero pressed his fingers into V's burning hot skin. The little moan of relief that V breathed out, was enough to send a shot of arousal straight to Nero's groin; and he was thankful when he felt himself begin to harden. It wasn't like he didn't find V attractive right now, Nero just couldn't quite separate the memory of finding out he had raped V, and what he was doing now. Even the fact that he had consent, didn't really ease his conscience – not when V was currently out of his mind with pain.

Nero's second and third finger quickly joined the first, stretching and slicking V's body; his moans rising in volume as pleasure started to overwhelm his pain, and his body started to push into his Alpha. Finally pulling his fingers free from the tight clench of V's entrance, Nero pushed down his own pants, smoothing lube over his own straining length, and steadying it as he positioned it at V's opening.

“Are you sure?” Nero rasped, wanting to make sure V hadn't changed his mind, as unlikely as that seemed.

“Yeessss.” V hissed out desperately, hips pressing back, entrance swallowing the head of Nero's cock greedily.

With a low moan of his own, Nero pushed forwards, snaking his arm around V's waist to pull him back more firmly against his chest before drifting upwards to pluck at V's rose nipples; other arm wrapping around the leg on his hip and raising it, opening V up further, all the better to push deeper into him. Thrusting his hips forwards forcefully, Nero groaned as V tightened almost painfully around him, body shaking in helpless pleasure as they lost themselves in the carnal rhythm.

V tossed his head as he arched his back, Nero leaning down to capture his lips in a fierce kiss. His hand left V's thigh, arm sliding around to instead hook around V's leg, keeping it anchored in the air, and reaching down to stroke V in time with his thrusts. Their kiss broke as V tore his mouth away to scream in ecstasy, his body clamping down harshly around Nero.

Nero's thrusts stuttered slightly, losing his rhythm as he drew closer to his own climax. V cried out as he felt Nero swelling further within him, rim stretching to accommodate Nero's growing knot. With one final push, Nero's knot pressed into V, the feeling sending them both hurtling over the edge into bliss. White filled V's vision, as Nero's teeth unerringly clenched down upon his mating mark and lapping at the reddened skin. With a little growl of his own, V pulled Nero down, clamping his own teeth into Nero's neck, a little purr of happiness escaping him at the sight of the reddened mark placed upon his mate.

They lay panting and sweaty in the aftermath of their orgasms, and Nero could feel relief as V's body finally seemed to stop radiating heat excessively. He couldn't tell you whether or not the other was more aware of himself and his surroundings, as V had fallen into a doze, soon after laying his mark – the Omega wriggling into a more comfortable position, and eventually falling asleep, as they were still locked together.

When he was finally able to pull out, Nero slowly slid from the bed to clean the sweat and other fluids from V's body, content to wait until later to remove his mate's scent from his own skin. Laying a hand upon V's head, Nero was pleased that his temperature seemed to be dropping into a normal range, and that he appeared to be stirring awake already. Tired, but thankfully clear, green eyes stared into his own, a small smile breaking over V's face as their eyes met.

“Thank you, Nero.” V rasped, the look of pain erased from his features.

Nero hurriedly handed him a bottle of water, watching as V drank it greedily, drops spilling from his eager mouth as he gulped.

“How do you feel?” Nero asked.

“Better.” V responded thoughtfully. “And hungry.” He looked at Nero with a hopeful look, his stomach choosing that moment to growl angrily at the lack of food.

Nero laughed lightly, pulling off his soiled shirt, replacing his sweatpants and heading for the door. “I'll bring you back something light to eat then. We don't want to upset your stomach right now. Rest, I'll be back soon ok?”

V nodded tiredly, tugging the rumpled covers over his shoulder, and burying his face in Nero's pillow. Shaking his head in fond amusement, Nero silently left the room, heading down to the kitchen to heat up some soup – home made if the girls had been shopping, canned if they hadn't. Finding Dante standing before the stove, stirring a saucepan full of soup was a surprise, but Nero just took the gesture for what it was – a helping hand.

“Hey Dante,” Nero greeted with a tired smile. “How's things?”

“Yeah, alright. I take it V's heat is over now?”

“Yeah....I er, ended up having to....you know...”

“Yeah, I know. We all know.” Dante informed Nero drily. “We could hear. Also, you stink.”

Nero turned crimson at the news, not sure if he should inform V of that little fact or leave him blissfully ignorant. He also realised, after a quick sniff of his armpits, that Dante was referring to the fact that V's scent clung heavily to him, not the sweat that had dried upon his skin.

“So I was thinking, with all of this saving the world shtick after becoming possessed and then the almost dying, followed by an unnatural heat thing, V is probably in real need of a vacation. And for that matter so are you.” Dante said, pointing the stirring spoon at Nero, and dripping soup all over the kitchen floor. “Girls and I have decided to send to you two off to the beach for a week, to rest and recover, and actually have some time to get to know each other normally and all that; so you can work out where you both want to go with this mating thing. Though looking at that nice claiming mark he's left on you, I don't think V is going to be going anywhere soon.”

Nero's hand flew up to touch the fresh mark, a little smile tugging at the corners of his lips, even as his face turned red. “You really think he is going to want to stay?”

The look Dante shot him seriously questioned his intelligence, and Nero laughed good- naturedly.

“Ok, ok that was maybe a stupid question; but I just find all of this so hard to believe you know? Things didn't really start like normal after all.”

“And who says things have to be normal to begin with?” Dante shot back. “Neither of you are the type to settle for a traditional Alpha/Omega mating; and from where I'm standing, you guys just work so well together.”

“Ah?” Nero tilted his head in confusion. “I mean that's great and all....but how?”

“You are a bit of a hothead,” Dante raised his brow as Nero opened his mouth to argue, nodding in satisfaction when he closed it without a sound. “And normally that kind of attitude would mess with an Omega to the point where you could end up completely overtaking their will. You wouldn't mean to do it, but you can be quite forceful at times. V is strong enough to stand up to you, and even fight you on what he wants to; and more importantly, you listen to him and back off.”

Nero nodded slowly, acknowledging that was a pretty fair assessment of his personality, and remembering how sometimes he had seen looks of unhappiness flash across Nico and Kyrie's faces as he had taken over a decision or plan. V had never let him get away with that though, fighting him and putting him back in his place; never paying any special attention to Nero just because he was an Alpha. Thinking further on that, Nero decided that he liked that about the other man – liked knowing that he wouldn't suppress V by accident with his slightly overbearing attitude.

“Now V...hooboy most other Alphas wouldn't stand for his independence. A lot of the older fashioned ones like to keep constant tabs on their mates, taking over all the decision making, even to the point of choosing their friends, jobs, and on occasion, everyday activities.”

“What?” Nero demanded in disgust. “That's really a thing?”

Dante pulled a face, confirming his words with a nod of his head. “It's disgusting, but it still happens. Especially with the rich, old bloods. V would never be allowed to go out hunting demons like he has been with us, he would never have the freedom that he had, from what little we know of his life before we met him. But you don't coddle him, don't treat him like he can't hold a sword just as well as the both of us – like he is fragile and can't protect himself. You let him fight his own battles, and ok yes you do get in the way a little, especially when his heat is coming, but you don't smother him...too much.”

“Jeez Dante, thanks for that.” Nero glared half-heartedly at the older man.

“No worries Nero, I've got your back,” Dante shot finger guns towards him with a smirk. “But what my point is, is that no matter how this ended up happening, the fact that you both found someone so uniquely suited is amazing. I really don't think that it would make sense for you both to go your separate ways now.”

“He's right you know.” Nero nearly tumbled from his seat at the sound of V's soft words from behind him, spinning to take in the sight of his mate standing on wobbly legs in the doorway. A pair of too long sweatpants hung from his hips, a large shirt covering most of his upper body.

Hurrying towards V, Nero ushered him towards the table, pulling out a chair and pushing him gently down to sit. He then grabbed the soup from the stove, ignoring the amused Dante watching them both, and poured it into a bowl before setting it down in front of him. V blew carefully over the soup, taking a small sip and swallowing, all the while ignoring Nero's steady stare.

“So, how long were you listening V?” Dante questioned.

“Long enough to know that Nero is being silly again.” V replied with a hidden smile. Nero sputtered in indignation, falling quiet when V reached out to tangle their fingers together, his silent message getting through to the other man. He wasn't going anywhere – at least not without Nero by his side.

“How are you feeling?” Nero's eyes were scanning over V, taking in his wan features.

“Much better now that my heat has subsided,” V answered softly. “Thank you Nero, I know you didn't want to do that.”

Nero turned away with a blush, his eyes falling on Dante who had a huge grin stretched across his face.

“More importantly thought...” V turned to Dante. “How are you?”

Dante's grin fell from his face, a grimace taking it's place. “Yeah, I mean I'm ok I guess? It's hard, but it's not like it's the first time I thought I killed Verg. Not that it gets easier or anything. Don't worry about it.”

“I see. I apologise for bringing it up.”

“Not your fault V, there was nothing we could have done for him in the end. He made his choices, and we had to deal with the fallout.”

Dante excused himself then, heading out to 'take care of things', that Nero and V translated to mean ' I need some alone time, and now that the crisis is over, I'm going to go somewhere alone to lick my wounds in privacy'. Murmuring goodbyes to the older man, the two watched as his shoulders stooped as he walked away, his steps seeming to become heavier with each step he took.

“He'll be ok.” V reassured Nero, pulling him towards himself and wrapping his arms around Nero's waist.

“Yeah, it's just hard to see him like this.” Nero responded, running his fingers through V's salt and pepper hair. He wasn't sure how V felt about the white strands of hair, and wondered if they would continue to grow white, or if they would turn black now that Vergil was gone. He decided he'd ask V about it later.

“And us? Are we going to be ok?” V asked softly, fingers clenching slightly around Neros.

“Yeah...yeah I think we will be.” Nero leant down to kiss V softly, pulling back with a small smile on his lips, mirrored upon V's own. “We'll make sure we're ok.”

“Ok. We'll do it. Together.”

Just the two of them.


End file.
